


Night and Day

by CQueen



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-14
Updated: 2013-10-18
Packaged: 2017-12-14 22:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 56,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/842244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CQueen/pseuds/CQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Andromeda Black is anything but thrilled when she's forced to tutor Ted Tonks, a Muggleborn. The goofy, clumsy Hufflepuff isn't like anyone she's ever met, and much to her surprise he just might teach her a thing or two along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Written In The Stars

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all said characters are put into by me. Everything else belongs to Rowling and lord only knows what she'd do to me if I tried to take the characters from her. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy, review, and have a great day.

Written In The Stars

Staring up at the night sky Andromeda Black felt totally at peace with herself and the world in general. She stood alone on the turret, the night air whipping her dark brown hair around her head so that it seemed to have a life of its own, while her dark eyes watched the stars above her. It was getting late, and she knew she should be heading back to her dorm, but Andromeda couldn't help linger just a little while longer. Watching the stars was her greatest pleasure, a way of reminding herself that in the grand scheme of things her problems and worries were small and insignificant. However brightly she might shine in her world, she was nothing compared to the white balls of fire that lit up even the darkest of skies. And did she truly shine here on earth? She was Head Girl, first in her year, considered beautiful, talented, and without a flaw. But what would she contribute to this world other than offspring to carry on her family line? Her family had her life all planned out for her, right down to who she would marry at the end of the year. Like her elder sister she would marry for blood and money, for the glory of the great wizarding families that seemed to be dying out faster every year, as their blood was tainted by Muggles and Muggleborns. But she did not want to be like Bella, especially now that her sister had fallen under the influence of the Dark Lord.

Her whole family seemed to see the pale, snake like man as the answer to their prayers, but Andromeda found him to be creepy, self serving and a hypocrite. As a Black Andromeda knew all the old wizarding families and their bloodlines, she knew that the Dark Lord wasn't one of them. The fanatic was either of mixed blood or a mudblood. He acted like his blood was above reproach, when in reality he preached hatred for the people he either was or who his parents were. No, she was more inclined to believe he was using the blood purity argument to gather followers and support for some bigger purpose. She knew he was also collecting followers of other species, like giants and werewolves, things even lower in the wizarding hierarchy than Mudbloods. Promising them a better life when he intended to wipe out over twenty percent of the wizarding population based on their lack of wizarding lineage. How stupid the creatures were. Their lives were only going to get worse as they were reduced to the Dark Lord's puppets. Like Bella was now his puppet. Fingers clenching into fists, Andromeda didn't even hear the approach of another until he spoke.

"Good evening, Miss Black."

Head whipping around Andromeda looked into the kindly face of her Headmaster, who had snuck up on her while she was unaware. He had an annoying habit of doing that. "Professor Dumbledore. Good evening."

There was something about the man that always unnerved her, a way of looking at people that made them think that not only did he know everything but that encouraged them to want to spill their guts to him. Being a Black, Andromeda was more likely to throw herself off a balcony.

"Rather chilly tonight, wouldn't you say?"

"I suppose it is." Not that she'd noticed, until he'd brought it up. Now she was starting to feel the cold and mentally cursed him out for ruining her private time.

Smiling as though he knew exactly what was going on in her head Dumbledore moved to stand at her side. "I am rather glad I ran into you, actually. I have been meaning to speak with you."

"Is that so? What about, Sir?" Careful to keep the trepidation out of her voice Andromeda none the less went on her guard, ready to analyze every word that came out of his mouth. There was something about his smile that made her think she was really, really not going to like whatever he had to say.

"Are you familiar with a sixth year by the name of Ted Tonks? He's in Hufflepuff."

"No, Sir." Andromeda's tone implied clearly that she thought he was off his rocker to think that she would. She was a Slytherin, a Black. In the school hierarchy the Hufflepuffs were the lowest of the low, the wizards and witches destined to perform manual labor so that their betters didn't have to. She would have to think hard even to picture what the prefects for the house looked like, and she actually had to speak to them occasionally. And even discounting that she was a seventh year to his sixth, which meant no shared classes forcing her to be aware of his existence.

"Ah, I see. Well do you remember last month when there was a contest held to see who could and would eat…shall we say unusual things?"

Oh she remembered all right. She'd given serious thanks to the powers that be that her little cousin Sirius wasn't yet at Hogwarts. He would have definitely entered in it and then she would have been stuck taking care of the little imp. From what she'd heard not a single participant of the contest hadn't ended up in the hospital wing.

"I see you do. Well Ted Tonks was the winner of that contest and has only just arrived back from St. Mungos today." Dumbledore continued with a smile. "And as he has been gone for a month he is sorely behind on his school work I'm afraid. Of course exceptions have been made but he does have a lot of catching up to do. That's where you come in, my dear."

Seeing where this was going Andromeda felt the color leech from her cheeks. Oh no, no way. Surely he couldn't mean to suggest-

"As Head Girl and first in your year I'm sure you understand why I think you would be the best choice for this assignment. He's a bright enough lad and I'm sure you'll have him caught up in no time." Raising a hand to ward off the many reasons Dumbledore knew she'd come up with to try and get out of it he continued speaking like she wasn't looking at him like she'd like to push him off the turret. "I know you're busy with your own studies but I also know you have an advantage over other students in that you have the ability to commit whatever you learn to memory, thus allowing you to excel without studying overly much, giving you more free time then most."

How the hell does he know that, Andromeda mentally fumed, reluctantly impressed. Was he watching her because of her family, the rumors of their allegiance to the Dark Lord? If so, this was the first she'd caught on to his interest in her. Could this be a test of some sort, Andromeda wondered, eyeing the man cautiously. Was this tutoring assignment his way of judging her character? Was this Ted Tonks one of Dumbledore's spies despite his young age? It could warrant looking into. It was always wise to know your enemies as intimately as you knew yourself.

Watching the calculated look come into the girl's eyes Dumbledore knew he had her interest enough that she would at least show up for a couple tutoring sessions. "As you both have very different schedules I thought two hours after dinner on what nights suit you both would be best. I told him to head straight to the DADA classroom after he's eaten tomorrow. Will that suit you?"

"I will be there." Andromeda agreed after a thoughtful pause. If need be, she would find a way out of it. No one ever made a Black do something they didn't want to do for long. Nobody.

"Very good. I'm sure he'll be thrilled."

)

"Enjoying your last meal?" Marcus Meyer teased, poking Ted in the side as he watched his friend play with his food rather than eat it. It was hilarious really, seeing just how nervous the other boy was. Though to be honest, who could blame the kid?

"What am I going to say to her?" Ted mumbled, pushing his potatoes around his plate.

"Well I wouldn't tell her you're Muggleborn unless she asks for starters." Not that Marcus thought that Andromeda Black would be remotely interested in having anything resembling a conversation with Ted. The Slytherin princess didn't interact with mere mortals like them. That she'd agreed to tutor Ted at all was earth shattering. Dumbledore must have seriously bribed her.

Setting his fork down Ted gave Marcus a look that said plainly that he wasn't helping. Although he'd never spoken with Andromeda Black he knew enough to know that it would take all his brain power just to form coherent sentences, much less absorb what she'd be trying to teach him. Not only was she the most beautiful girl in school, but she had a presence to her that made him think he should get down on his knees and worship her as she passed by. He was going to be tutored by a living goddess who would probably be all for smiting him if he didn't meet her undoubtedly high expectations. Oh yeah, this was so going to be his last meal. He wasn't stupid, far from it usually, but he had a short attention span on the best of days. Around her, it was bound to only be worse, and drive her to drowning him in the nearest caldron. There were a lot of places to hide a dead body around here.

"Quit looking so worried, she did agree to tutor you after all. She knows how behind you are."

Somehow Ted didn't see that saving him. Looking up from his plate Ted's eyes drifted across the room to the head of the Slytherin table where Andromeda held court. As always he felt frogs erupt into mad hopping in his stomach as he looked over the utter perfection that was the Slytherin goddess. Her hair was bound up as it always was, a French braid with chocolate brown tendrils framing her sculpted face to perfection. Heavy lidded ebony eyes, skin as pale as snow, a living Snow White from the fairy tales he'd loved as a child. He could stare at her face for hours and not even remember there were even prettier areas of her anatomy he could be looking at. Not that he looked in that direction often, as she was liable to kill anyone who dared.

"Dude! She's totally staring at you!"

Eyes wide Ted looked and saw that he was, indeed, being looked over by the woman of his dreams. OH. MY. GOD.

)

Normally Andromeda wouldn't have noticed a Hufflepuff staring at her, but she had for once been looking in that direction as she speculated as to who she would shortly be stuck with for two hours. She was used to being stared at, admired from afar, but the intensity of this stare caught her attention so that she actually stopped her people scanning and bothered to see who it was.

Average was the first thought that popped into her head. He looked to be about average height and build, with fair hair that wasn't too pale or too dark. His skin tone was a few shades darker than her own but he was too far away for her to get a look at his eyes or bone structure. There was nothing that stood out, nothing that would make him memorable in any way, she mused. Other then the focus and heat of his stare. Reluctantly curious as to what she'd see in those distant eyes if she could, Andromeda looked longer than she normally would have, before turning her attention to her side, where her little sister was trying to gain her attention.

"Why are you staring at him?" Narcissa demanded to know in a hiss as soon as she was sure she had her older sister's attention.

"He was staring first."

Narcissa wasn't buying that for a moment. "A lot of men stare at you. You don't stare back." She didn't like her sister paying attention to someone outside their house, especially a male someone. With Bella acting so… consumed lately, Narcissa counted on her other sister more than ever to be there for her. If their father knew or even thought that Dromeda was remotely interested in a Hufflepuff…

Leaning forward Andromeda made one of her rare shows of public affection, touching her forehead to her sister's as she bestowed on her one of her rare and real smiles. "Don't look so worried, Cissy. I'm only interested in the Hufflepuff I'm going to be stuck tutoring and that's only because I want to know what Dumbledore's up to, sticking his long nose in my life."

"Batty, interfering old man." Narcissa's muttered darkly, hating the man for putting her older sister out. If he meant to cause problems for Andromeda he would have her to deal with.

"Or he just pretends to be." Was Andromeda's opinion, experienced enough in the games of intrigue to know never to judge someone by the front they showed to the outside world. Often the most dangerous of people were those who stayed in the background or played the fool for others. No one ever saw them coming that way. At least almost no one, Andromeda thought as she turned her head to look in the direction of the teacher's table. She was no one's fool, least of all Dumbledore's.

)

When Andromeda let herself into the DADA room she was not only surprised to see that the Hufflepuff had beaten her to the room, but that he was also the boy she'd seen staring at her earlier. Well that explained his interest in her. His head was bent over a piece of parchment, scribbling away with some sort of writing utensil, showing no sign of awareness of her presence. Not used to being ignored so completely Andromeda was reluctantly intrigued to see what had his attention. Homework? If he had the work ethic to be this absorbed in his work, why would he need a tutor, Andromeda wondered as she walked up behind him, looking over his shoulder. Eyebrows drawn together Andromeda studied the piece of paper, understanding that it was the early sketches of drawings of some sort, broken up into a bunch of boxes.

"Is this…a comic strip?"

Head whipping around Ted's eyes went to the size of dinner plates under his bangs as he found hi face within a foot of Andromeda's, her front nearly pressed up against his back as she looked at him questioningly.

When he just gaped at her like a landed fish Andromeda snapped her fingers in front of his face, giving serious thought to slapping him when that didn't work. Some of her intent must have got through, because he finally blinked and focused.

"Sorry…what?"

"Is that a comic strip?"

Outrageously happy that she would know what he was doing Ted beamed at her as he nodded, pushing aside his messy, overly long bangs from his face so that his view of her was less obstructed.

Blinking, not used to such goodwill being beamed in her direction, Andromeda watched him push aside his too long bangs, blinking again as she caught sight of his eyes. Dark cobalt blue eyes. In such an ordinary setting those eyes would have stood out anyway, but even on their own they were stunningly beautiful in their brilliance.

"Why were you staring at me like that before?" Andromeda asked roughly, wanting to distract them both from her reaction to his eyes. She knew why he stared of course, why all men who weren't blind stared at her. She'd been told she was beautiful all her life after all. Not that she had anything to do with how she looked, which was why she always brushed off such compliments as meaningless. Her looks would fade eventually, so why care what people thought of them?

"Sorry about that." Rubbing the back of his neck Ted gave her a sheepish look, trying not to think about how his cheeks and ears were going red under her stare. "I just looked at you and my mind went to poetryland."

"Poetryland?"

"My mum's an English professor, she specializes in poetry. I've read or heard the stuff all my life. Sometimes I see things that remind me of some lines and then I have to use all my brains to remember what they are or it drives me nutters."

"And I did that?" She'd never met a man who so willingly admitted to reading poetry. Of course he WAS a Hufflepuff.

"Yeah, it took me a minute or two because I'm not a big Lord Bryon fan. My mum is though, which is why I knew it in the first place."

Wanting to seem indifferent Andromeda struggled to hide her interest, desperately wanting to know what piece of poetry her face had reminded him of. She'd never heard of this Lord Bryon person, which meant he must be a Muggle writer. Which meant that not only would getting her hands on any of his works be near to impossible but she wouldn't know which poem it was, assuming the man had wrote a fair body of work in his worthless Muggle life.

Content to stare at her while she struggled not to ask him about the poem Ted marveled at all the little things he'd never noticed about her face, having never been this close before. She had just the faintest hint of freckles on her nose, so pale as to be all but invisible to the naked eye. And she had flecks of brown in her black eyes, like hints of something softer among all the darkness. Hints of something more behind her dark perfection.

"What were the lines?" She finally demanded to know, her voice mistress to servant as her eyes dared him to even think about inciting her wrath by not telling her.

Not looking at her, since he would lose his train of thought if he did that, Ted stared at his work in progress as he softly recited the opening lines to the poem in question.

"She walks in beauty, like the night  
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;  
And all that's best of dark and bright  
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:  
Thus mellowed to that tender light  
Which heaven to gaudy day denies."


	2. A Terrible Spy

A Terrible Spy

If he thought she could be won over by a couple lines of poetry he was sadly mistaken. Refusing to be flattered by his words Andromeda abruptly walked around him to the other side of the desk, taking a seat on the chair he had thoughtfully set on the other side for her. Not that she was going to thank him. Ever.

Folding her hands neatly in her lap Andromeda's dark eyes were emotionless as she waited for him to put aside his drawings and pull out his stuff, which he quickly did once he realized the brief moment of human connection had passed.

"What is it you need help with?" She demanded to know, looking over the titles of his books absently. Potions, DADA, Charms and Muggle Studies. Muggle Studies? "Why would you need to take a class on Muggle Studies? Don't you have at least one Muggle parent?" He had said his mother was an English professor after all. That was Muggle teacher, wasn't it?

"Oh, uhm…easy grade. And I thought it would be sort of neat to see how you guys see us…historically and all. I mostly need your help with Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. I think I can probably muddle through Charms, since I know you're busy and stuff."

Potions and DADA were her best classes. She genuinely loved potion making, and with her family she was no stranger to the Dark Arts. She'd been taught them since she was a mere child and it was always wise to know how to counter what the people around you used most in their own defense. At least it wasn't likely he could come up with a question or problem she couldn't solve. It would be unbearably humiliating to have to admit to a possible Mudblood that she didn't know something.

Pulling out the information his teachers had given him Ted silently handed them over to her, getting the distinct impression that the less he talked the better. Which was just fine with him, he wouldn't know what to say to her anyway.

Taking it from him, carefully to insure their fingers didn't brush, Andromeda quickly read over the outlines his teachers had prepared for him, detailing what he had missed and what he was being expected to learn on his own time, as well as keep up with his present workload. His poor Muggle brain was probably ready to leak out his ears from overwork, Andromeda thought with a faint smirk.

"I'll arrange use of the dungeon with Professor Slughorn tomorrow." Andromeda announced, setting the papers down after reading them over thoroughly. "It's pointless to try and teach you potions without actually making them. You'll report there after dinner tomorrow."

She didn't even ask him if he had other plans or consider the fact that Slughorn would say no. Not that he wouldn't have cancelled any plans he might have had in a heartbeat for another chance to be around her. He'd figured on exasperating her to death in the two hours they had now together. He hadn't honestly thought there would be another meeting after this.

"We'll start with DADA then. Open your text book to Chapter thirteen."

)

Twenty minutes later Andromeda could feel a definite twitch developing under her right eye. She'd been lecturing him for the full twenty minutes and his eyes had been glazed over for at least fifteen of it. Was anything getting through, she wondered as he tried to come up with an answer to the question she'd just asked him. If his answer wasn't half way decent she was going to hex him.

"Sorry." Sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck Ted didn't think it wise to tell her that he'd zoned out half way through, so caught up in the beauty of her voice to really process what she'd been saying. "I have a terrible attention span."

"How have you made it to your sixth year if you cannot pay attention for twenty minutes?" He was like a goldfish, Andromeda marveled. Once around the bowl and his brain went empty. She'd known Muggles were stupid but still…

Well it helped that none of his professors were remotely beautiful or sexy. "I usually learn best by doing. And my friends help me. One of my best is in Ravenclaw and he's pretty good at breaking things down so I can understand them. That and he bribes me."

"He bribes you?"

"With chocolate. I have a major sweet tooth and he won't give me any until I can rhyme off what he wants me to remember. I'm pretty good at remember things once they're firmly stuck in my head. Then the problem is getting rid of it once I don't need it anymore."

"So the only way I can get you to learn is bribery?" Like that was ever going to happen.

The idea of her giving him chocolate thrilled him but Ted wasn't so stupid as to think that would ever happen. And yet… A glimmer of an idea popping into his head Ted was weary about suggesting it. But it would make him pay attention, and she was probably only going to be his tutor for a night or two now that she knew how bad things were.

"How about a trade?"

"A trade?" She repeated, her eyes narrowing slightly. There was something about his voice that made her think she was not going to like his suggestion at all.

"Yeah. Lecture me for the whole hour we have left and than quiz me on everything you cover. You keep track of how many questions I get right and for every question I get you have to answer a question. Nothing really personal or anything, just basic stuff. And if you don't want to answer you can pass, but then I get to ask you an extra question as penalty."

And so the questioning begins. Of course she hadn't expected Dumbledore's spy to be so blunt about it, but there was no doubt in Andromeda's mind that this was the real reason Dumbledore had asked her to tutor the Hufflepuff. He was probably only pretending to be stupid, lulling her into compliancy so that she would be willing to make this little trade of his. Clever enough, she supposed, for a Hufflepuff. Child's play for a Slytherin though.

Watching him watch her Andromeda weighed the pros and cons of agreeing to this little game of his. She was curious as to how he thought he could trip her up. Did he honestly think he had brains to match hers? Please. He would barely be able to keep up with her.

"All right. I agree to your terms."

)

And so for the next hour Ted paid attention like his life depended on it and when it was time for the questioning he did much better than either of them had expected, earning himself the right to ask twenty three questions.

Braced for anything Andromeda didn't know what the hell to think when his first question was what was her favorite color. "You want to know my favorite color?" She repeated, sure she must have heard wrong.

"Yup." She didn't wear a lot of color and he rarely saw her wearing anything other than her school uniform. Pink was way too girlie for someone like her and he couldn't see her as a pastel sort of girl. Bold, jewel tones maybe, but nothing too bright.

"Blue." Was he trying to soften her up with easy questions first?

"What shade of blue?"

The twitch was back. She didn't want to tell him what shade of blue. It would go to his head. Or would he even know what shade she meant? Men were usually pretty clueless about that sort of thing. But he did draw, so maybe he would know more than most. Oho, was that his plan, Andromeda wondered, her quick mind suddenly seeing another possibility. Maybe he wanted her to pass on the question, counting on her finding the question beneath her. That would earn him more questions. Clever, she thought, but not clever enough.

"Cobalt blue."

Cobalt blue, he mentally repeated to himself, making a mental note to find out just what that was. The name didn't tell him anything. He'd ask one of his girl friends, they knew stuff like that for some reason.

Pleased when he didn't comment Andromeda lost some of her smugness as the rest of the twenty one questions proved just as pointless as the first two. Why should he care whether she liked cats or dogs better, or which school subjects she liked best or hated. Her favorite foods, her childhood pets, little things about her life that were so ordinary she didn't even have to think about any of her answers. What the hell kind of spy was he? What could any of this possibly tell him? Was he as dotty as Dumbledore pretended to be?

By the time the classroom clock chimed out the lateness of the hour Andromeda had a huge headache brewing from trying to understand him while Ted was ecstatic to have learned so much about his dream girl. Who would have thought that they had the same favorite flower, irises, and that she didn't know whether she liked Coke better than Pepsi, having never had either. He was going to have to remedy that, though it went against the grain for him to buy Pepsi, even just to prove its inferiority to his beloved Coca Cola. Since she was his dream girl, and therefore perfect, Ted had no doubt her sensitive palate would be able to not only tell the difference between it and Pepsi but see that Coke was superior to all soft drinks.

Not even wanting to guess at what was going through his twisted little head Andromeda rose to head out, not wanting to spend another moment in his company.

"Hold on a minute!"

Surprised Andromeda barely got out of his way in time as he rushed to open the door for her, grinning at her sheepishly again. Grinching her teeth Andromeda stepped through the doorway and headed in the direction of her dormitories, the twitch returning when he fell into step beside her. "Your dormitories are not this way." She didn't know exactly where they were, but logic dictated they were nearby since her own were in the opposite direction.

"I'm walking you back. It's late." Actually it wasn't that late, and she was twenty times more dangerous than he was, but it was the principle of the point. He might do it clumsily but he did have good manners, especially where girls were concerned.

Every time he opened his mouth her opinion of his intelligence dropped that much lower. What did he think she could possibly run into that wouldn't run in the other direction rather than fight her? Even among the other Slytherins she was the most feared and respected. That that had a lot to do with the legacy her older sister had left behind wasn't the point. She was as tough as Bellatrix and she was a Black. She was the one to inspire fear, not feel it.

"I don't need you to walk me back." She finally said coldly, when her ignoring him didn't work.

"I insist."

How dare he disobey her. Who did he think he was? She was so used to being automatically obeyed that she wasn't sure how to proper express the outrage she was feeling. And to add insult to the injury he didn't look the least bit worried either. Had the whole world gone mad when she wasn't looking?

"You do know how easily I could kill you, don't you?" She finally asked, wondering if he was too dim to realize the dangers of talking back to her.

"Yup. Still walking you to your door."

Apparently she'd been insulting goldfish when she'd made the comparison. He was even dumber than they were. And why was he being so damn insistent? It wasn't like he needed to learn where the Slytherin dorms were, Dumbledore would certainly already know that. Was this simply a test to see whether she would show him or not? And was she reading way too much into all this? She was starting to think this wasn't a test at all but a punishment.

)

They were half way to the Slytherin dorms when she caught sight of someone she most definitely had not wanted to run into. Annie Miller was the Slytherin female prefect for the sixth years and Andromeda thought as little of her as she did the Hufflepuff beside her. Annie was one of the most two faced people Andromeda had ever met and that was really saying something. The younger girl had such a kind, pleasant face, completely at odds with her real, incredibly cruel personality. Most people didn't see her for what she was until the little viper had her fangs in their necks.

"Hello, Andromeda." The girl said sweetly, a gleam in her muddy brown eyes as she looked Ted over, recognizing him from their mutual classes. Now what was the filthy Mudblood doing with the Queen of Pureblood, she speculated, mind already forming the rumors she would start. It would serve the uppity bitch right, Annie thought viciously.

A curt nod of her head was the only recognition Andromeda would give her. The hatred was completely mutual. When the girl had first come to Hogwarts she'd done her best to kiss up to Andromeda, trying to worm her way into the elite crowd to which Andromeda belonged to. Andromeda had made sure that didn't happen. She hadn't been subtle about it.

Feeling rather invisible Ted wondered if wands would be drawn shortly. He'd put twenty, no a hundred galleons on Andromeda. He didn't like Annie Miller either. Well that and it was given that Andromeda would win and he could use the hundred galleons.

"You're in some of my classes, aren't you?" Annie asked, finally acknowledging Ted's presence. "I can't remember your name. You're a Muggleborn, right?" She'd need his name in order to lend credibility to the stories she was cooking up.

Since they'd never spoken this really didn't surprise him. Ted wasn't sure he wanted to tell her his name though. Something about the look in her eyes made him weary of telling her even that much.

"His name is of no importance to you." Andromeda stated before he could open his mouth to give a reply. So he was a Muggleborn, it figured. "I assume you are heading back to our dorms, you should get moving." There was no mistaking the fact that it wasn't a request.

"Aren't you going the same way?"

"Yes, but as you can see I have an escort. And three is a crowd." That's right, Andromeda thought smugly, watching the verbal slap register. I'd rather spend time with a filthy Mudblood than you. Now run along like the bitch you are and start your stupid little rumors. She was so far beneath her Andromeda couldn't have cared less. Her family would never believe it of her and they were the only ones whose opinions she cared about.

Watching the other girl march off Ted looked over at Andromeda questioningly. That Miller was a gossip was well known, and he'd imagine that everyone would know by the end of breakfast tomorrow that he and Andromeda had been seen together. The Slytherin girl was bound to include plenty of falsehoods too that would make this seem way more sordid than it actually was. Not that he was worried about himself; he would be flattered as hell if anyone actually believed he would have a shot with a girl like Andromeda Black. She definitely wouldn't be flattered though and he didn't want her upset because of him.

Feeling the questions in his stare Andromeda chose to ignore them. She didn't need to explain herself to him. She didn't need to explain her actions to anyone.

They were almost at the passageway that led to her dorms when she finally spoke again. "This is where you head back in the other direction. Argue with me and I'll simply use a body binding curse."

Seeing that she was serious Ted figured he should consider himself lucky to have been allowed to come this far. Her dorm couldn't be that far away after all. "All right then, pleasant dreams. Thanks again for your help." Smiling as charmingly as he knew how Ted took it as a good sign that she didn't inform him there wasn't going to be another session.

Nodding stiffly Andromeda didn't return the good night but simply started walking again, doing her best to forget that's she'd ever met him. Tomorrow would be soon enough to deal with the human headache.

)

On his way back to his own dorm Ted ran into Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout, both obviously surprised to see him out and about. Quickly explaining his reasons for being there they both accepted his explanation, though very surprised to learn just who had been assigned as the boy's tutor. What had Albus been thinking? Was he trying to get the boy killed?

Wishing them both a good night Ted paused for a moment as a thought occurred to him. "Hey, you're both girls."

The women gave him looks that said they didn't appreciate the note of surprise in his voice.

"What I mean is…do either of you know what cobalt blue looks like? I mean is it a light blue or a dark blue?"

Raising an eyebrow Madam Pomfrey tried to think of something she could give him as an example. Then it occurred to her… "Aren't your eyes cobalt blue? A dark, sapphire sort of blue, that's cobalt."

"My eyes?"

"I think so."

Why this should make the boy give a war whoop of joy was beyond both of them.


	3. Dead Men Walking

Dead Men Walking

Andromeda Black and Ted Tonks were the main topic of conversation by lunch the next day. Everywhere the two went they were given special notice, speculative, suggestive glances that flustered Ted and slid off Andromeda like water. The fact that they weren't seen together once didn't even put a dent in the rumors. Andromeda had too many enemies for the story not to continue and grow, so that some people were even suggesting that the two had been found in various compromising positions in an empty classroom. It was these speculations that had Ted blushing throughout the afternoon, unable to think of anything but what was being said. Of course he tried desperately to set the record straight, but they either wouldn't listen or thought he was just being a gentleman.

The one most enraged by the rumors was Narcissa, who covertly got the root of the problem, Annie Miller, sent to the Medical Wing. Those who saw the gossip before she was hidden behind screens reported that the girl's face now resembled a muskrat's.

Aware of what her sister had done Andromeda said nothing, though if need be she'd step in and take the blame for her sister's actions. Sometimes her sister was too reckless of her own good. Or perhaps she was using it all up now, knowing that when she was married to Lucius Malfoy she would have to constantly restrain herself. Not that Narcissa objected to that, even though she and Malfoy were only thirteen. Had he been born earlier it would have been she engaged to him, their families were that close. Lucius had even sought her out to express his cold outrage on her behalf, offering to see to the Mudblood for her. She'd declined, preferring to take care of these things herself. Besides, from what she'd heard, the Mudblood was denying the relationship as much as Narcissa was. She had no reason to want him punished…yet.

But someone other than Lucius punished the Hufflepuff before she could decide if he should be. Someones, actually. Three Slytherins who were relatives of Nicolai Dolohov, the man her father had picked out for her. Since one of the three was Antonin Dolohov, Nicolai's younger brother, Andromeda was expecting the worst as she walked towards the Hospital Wing. Not that she cared what happened to the Mudblood; or Antonin for that matter, but she did want to know whether she would have her evening free or not.

Not making any noise, hoping that he would be unconscious and she could just get a look at his injuries, Andromeda headed for the screened bed on the left. There were several voices coming from that one and none on the right. Miller wouldn't have visitors, if only because she wouldn't allow herself to become gossip.

Grinching her teeth Andromeda reached to push aside the screen, hoping to be in and out as quickly as possible. Her hand stilled though, when she caught the tail end of a comment.

)

"-getting beat up like this for her was stupid." Arthur Weasley was telling his friend, wincing in sympathy at the amount of pain Ted had to be in. "I mean it's not like she'll thank you for it. Hell, she might even thank them for it."

"She wouldn't if she knew what they were saying about her." Ted grumbled, doing his best not to move. He hurt everywhere. They hadn't just stopped at spells. Once he'd been down and wandless Dolohov had kicked the crap out of him. His ribs were repairing, and his bruises were healing, but a couple of the spells they'd used were ones Madam Pomfrey had never seen before. She hadn't figured out how to return his sight either, which meant he couldn't even distract himself with his comics. He could be stuck here for a while, Ted thought glumly. The way things were going he might even have to repeat a year.

"What were they saying?" Colin Dunst, one of Teddy's roomies, wanted to know.

"I won't repeat it."

"Must have been pretty bad for you to actually think you could take on three seventh year Slytherins by yourself."

"I wasn't exactly thinking." He'd basically overheard, saw red, and had charged in without a thought to the possible consequences. And even knowing how much it would hurt, he'd do it again. There were some things a guy just couldn't turn the other cheek to.

"You and your chivalry complex." Shaking her head, Molly Prewett crossed her arms in front of her. "I'm surprised though that that bastard Dolohov let them insult her. I mean isn't she going to end up married to that brother of his? The human gorilla?"

"He was the worst of them. And apparently he was repeating things his brother had said about her. How can she marry that bastard? And how could he have known her for years and not realize what he's got? He's just marrying her for her money, the...the…worse than a Mudblood git. If he were here I'd…I'd…"

"End up dead." Arthur finished. "Nicolai Dolohov might not be as twisted as his brother but he'd just as vicious."

"And it would not be a quick death." Colin added, his face serious. "And a future Deatheater is not worth dying for."

"She's not a Deatheater. She could never be one of those horrible people."

"You don't even know her." Molly pointed out, well aware of her friend's crush on the Slytherin princess. She didn't get it, but it was incredibly hard not to miss the lovesick look that came into Ted's eyes whenever Andromeda was near him. "And look at her sisters. Her friends for Merlin sake. My mum always says you can tell a lot about a person from the company they keep."

"They aren't really her friends though. They just hang around her because of her name." Ted protested. "And she doesn't like them either. She just lets them hang off her because she has to."

)

While the four of them argued over whether she liked her 'friends' or not Andromeda slowly backed up, not wanting them to know she was there or that she had been listening. That Nicolai had been talking about her to Antonin came as no surprise, the brothers were as close as she was to her own sisters. That Antonin would speak badly of her in front of others and was confident his brother wouldn't care didn't surprise her either. The Dolohov men were not shy about expressing their low opinion of women. And as the Mudblood had said, he was after her money, not her. She could even imagine what Nicolai had said about her. What did surprise her was the fact that the Mudblood had apparently attacked rather than been attacked. He'd attacked in defense of her honor. He, who had to be one of the most idiotic and bumbling morons she'd ever come across, had taken on three vastly superior and infinitely more dangerous Slytherins for her.

She didn't know how to feel about that.

She was saved from having to think about that too deeply by the familiar sound of sensible shoes stepping on stone floor. Andromeda had just enough warning to back up enough that it wouldn't be obvious she'd been nearby before Madam Pomfrey stepped into the room from her office.

"Can I help you? If you're here to see Miss. Miller, she's refusing all visitors for the moment." Madam Pomfrey called out, her tone of voice indicating that she was less than thrilled to see Andromeda. She'd patched up enough of Bellatrix's victims to have a healthy dislike for the Black family. Andromeda herself had never been implicated in anything, but she could simply be smarter than her older sister. Bellatrix had known how to cover her tracks too.

"I could care less about her. I simply came to see if my student would be showing up for tutoring this evening." Was her cool response, easily staring the older woman down.

"YOU CAME TO SEE ME?"

Both women turned their heads with similar expressions of shock at how delighted Ted sounded behind the screen. His three friends poked their heads out with similar expressions of shock. Everyone was shocked but Ted, who was absolutely delighted. Pain smain, he thought with a wide, goofy grin. Andromeda Black had heard he'd been messed up and had come to see him! How sweet what that!

Naturally Andromeda was the first to recover her poise. "Will he be up and walking around this evening?" She asked Madam Pomfrey, deliberately ignoring the others.

"No. He's here until at least tomorrow, and that's if we can figure out how to repair his eyes."

"His eyes?" Andromeda repeated, recalling the comic he'd been drawing the night before. An artist couldn't draw if he couldn't see. Not that she cared of course, she hadn't asked him to stand up for her. She had nothing to feel guilty about.

"One of your Slytherin friends blinded him somehow." Molly informed her before Madam Pomfrey could answer, the redhead's tone indicating she blamed Andromeda even more than the actual perpetrators.

Rookwood probably. That was a favorite of his. Before she questioned what she was about to do Andromeda walked towards the screens, Ted's friends instinctively moving out of her way so as not to be trampled. Ignoring the dumb ass smile on the boy's face Andromeda took in the eyes which were pure white with no trace of the irises. Yes, this was Rookwood's handiwork. Raising her wand Andromeda performed the counter curse, all of them watching the irises slowly reappear and return to their usual blue brilliance.

"I can see again! Wahoo!"

Rolling her eyes Andromeda was already regretting what some people might misinterpret as kindness. "I will be here directly after dinner. We'll continue where we left off last night since you won't be able to practice potions. I will expect you to have read chapters five and twenty and be able to summarize the main points, understand?"

"Yes, ma'am." Ted assured her, forgetting himself enough to salute her, wincing at the pain that caused. Stupid ribs.

"And don't forget you have that paper for Defense Against the Dark Arts due tomorrow."

This being all she had to say Andromeda was gone before anyone could think to question her as to why she'd bothered to remind him or fix his eyes.

She wouldn't have been able to tell them.

)

It wasn't hard for Andromeda to confirm what had happened with the Mudblood. She knew Rookwood was involved so it was a simple a matter to slip him some Veritaserum between classes. Then she got him alone and made him spill every little detail from what had been said about her to every spell casted upon the Hufflepuff. Once she'd gotten a complete run down of things she left him in the rarely used corridor, the man bruised, bleeding and broken on the floor. She liked to invent spells too sometimes and she was particular proud of that one, which caused the victim to beat the hell out of himself even after losing consciousness. She hadn't stopped him until the damage was worse than what he and his friends had inflicted. Fair was fair after all.

She'd also used a memory charm to insure he didn't remember who he'd spoken to before the spell hit. It wasn't even a challenge, with a mind as weak as his. She probably hadn't even needed the Veritaerum, but she didn't have time to waste intimidating it out of him. He was only one of three.

The previously unknown third was Mutt Watson, the underling type who bowed and scrapped at Antonin's feet. For him she waited until Potions, having learned earlier from Professor Slughorn what they would be working on. It was simple enough to take a seat behind him and Antonin, to act like she wasn't aware of what they'd said as they greeted her. And she played along, her greeting just as cordial, her mood just as untroubled throughout the lecture and potion brewing. She bided her time, keeping an eye on where Watson was with his potion, and when it was at the right stage she casually pulled out her wand and out of view of everyone caused the contents of the caldron to explode up into the Slytherin's face.

The finished potion was designed to repair flesh after extreme magical damage. At the stage his potion had been at, however, it mutated the flesh, causing it to shift and misshape itself so that his eyes were practically lost under the newly bulging eyebrow ridge. His whole face had taken on the appearance of some horrible hunchback freak and it would stay that way for a while. The antidote was incredibly hard to make, expensive, and took two months to prepare correctly. The antidote also had a shelf life of only two months, which meant it was only made when needed. A harsher punishment than Rookwood's some would say, but then they wouldn't be aware, as she was, that Watson was largely responsible for doing the homework of the other two. And since the boy had just earned himself a long stay at St. Mungo's the other two would be on their own school wise. And they were not nearly as intelligent as they liked to think they were. Plus she just didn't like underlings in general. They disgusted her the way they fawned and flattered their leader while refusing to have an original thought in their tiny brains. Above all she despised those who were content to be led.

The final Slytherin would have to wait until just before dinner. Luckily she didn't have a class before then, so that she could have everything in place before anyone left for the Hall.

Sitting calmly in the common room Andromeda very slowly and very carefully applied one last coating on her long nails, the polish a yellowy gold. It had to be wet after all, she thought coolly.

When Antonin came into the common room after stowing away his school supplies Andromeda was ready for him. Calmly screwing the lid back on the bottle Andromeda placed the bottle back into her robe pocket and then stood up. With everyone getting ready to head for dinner the room was adequately full of Slytherins for what she had planned.

Crossing over to him Andromeda waited until he turned to look at her before she drew back her arm diagonally and than whipped her hand out, her nails raking across the left side of his face as her hand connected.

Crying out in pain Antonin desperately clutched his face, the room going silent except for his painful whimpers as the rattlesnake venom entered his bloodstream.

"Did you think I wouldn't hear?" Andromeda hissed, her dark eyes cold and unforgiving as they stared into his, the Slytherin kneeling at her feet now. "If I ever hear you've sullied my name again that will seem like a sisterly kiss on the cheek."

And finally turning her gaze to the rest of them Andromeda's eyes conveyed that the threat applied to them all.

)

Madam Pomfrey watched Ted with a mixture of amusement and sympathy. The boy had had her quiz him earlier in anticipation of Miss. Black's arrival, which he was now eagerly awaiting. He was like a child waiting for Father Christmas to come. The poor, poor, deluded boy. How did he not see what she was? Though the girl had surprised her earlier, fixing the boy's blindness. But still, a Black and a Muggleborn? How on earth did the boy think it could ever happen? And how was it that the entire Slytherin population hadn't killed him yet? Pomfrey could see the boy coming to see her often in the near future.

When Andromeda arrived she went straight over to the chair Ted had asked Madam Pomfrey to put out for her, appearing to be completely unaware of how happy the sight of her seemed to make him.

Watching Pomfrey wondered in amazement how the girl could be so completely unaware of the boy's feelings for her. Then she reminded herself that Blacks were champions when it came to seeing only what they wanted to see. And even better at ignoring those they considered beneath them.

"Did you read the chapters?" Andromeda asked in lieu of greeting.

"You betcha. Quiz away."

Taking him at his word Andromeda began to rather ruthless quiz him on the information he was supposed to have learned, reluctantly pleased when he was able to answer most of them somewhat satisfactorily. Apparently he hadn't spent all his time lazing about. Once they'd gone through the chapters to her satisfaction Andromeda asked to see his essay assignment.

Taking the rolls of parchment from him Andromeda handed him several sheets of parchment which she'd brought with her.

"What this?" Ted asked wearily, mentally exhausted from all the questions. That and he hadn't thought to ask about a trade like the day before, which now made all his earlier work seem like a let down.

"Read it and make sure you understand it." Was all she said, her eyes already reading over his assignment. While the amount of research done to back up his arguments wasn't up to her standards he did seem to have a gift for phrasing things in a convincing manner. His spelling, grammar and penmanship were flawless. It was even, as much as it grated, possibly better then her own. She was obviously going to have to work on changing that.

He meanwhile was goggling over the sheets of paper she'd given him, which contained study notes. He had a test in a couple days for Charms and with these notes he would probably be able to complete it no problem. He might even ace it. It was broken down to the extent that even a Muggle could understand it, which was probably deliberate on her part. But still, she'd bothered to go to the trouble, just for him.

Wasn't she just the greatest thing ever?

Looking up from the pages Andromeda met his gaze and felt a strange tightening in her gut. She couldn't begin to understand what she saw in his eyes, no one had ever looked at her like that before. It made her heart rate pick up and she felt strangely lightheaded, like she'd gotten up from a sitting position too fast. And while she didn't understand the reaction, she knew she didn't like it one bit.

Damn, troublesome, Mudblood.


	4. Thoughts And Chocolate

Thoughts and Chocolate

Deliberately looking away so that she didn't have to see the strange way he looked at her Andromeda again demanded to know if there was anything about the study notes he didn't understand. If there was nothing else she would leave.

"I think an idiot could ace this test with notes this good."

"That was the idea."

As he was not an idiot Ted got that she was calling him an idiot. Slytherins had called him far worse though and he could see that she was fraying around the edges. Most people wouldn't see it, but as an artist he knew something about faces and had happily studied hers for years. The straighter her posture the more she was trying to contain and hide. He thought he could probably use her back as a ruler at the moment.

"Well if that's everything then I'll-."

What she would have said died in her throat at the sound of the Medical Wing's door opening. The two of them watched as Antonin Dolohov came in with a fellow Slytherin who had a supporting arm around Antonin's waist. The venom had done its job, Antonin's face was painfully swollen and red, the claw marks from her nails starkly visible.

"What happened to him?" Ted muttered as he watched Madam Pomfrey hurry over to see to her latest charge, demanding to know what had scratched him. Not that he was sorry the bastard had gotten hurt of course. Hell, if it weren't for how messed up his body was right now he'd be doing handsprings. And he'd never been coordinated enough to ever do one before. He'd find a way though, first opportunity.

"A Black cat crossed my path." Antonin hissed in answer to Madam Pomfrey's query, turning his head to glare in Andromeda's direction. He wouldn't rat her out, but his eyes promised retribution at the first opportunity. The bitch was going to pay and pay big.

Madam Pomfrey wasn't any stupider than Ted and both instantly figured out that Andromeda had been the one to deliver the venomous blow to Antonin's cheek. Why was another question neither could answer. While Madam Pomfrey directed the Slytherin to the nearest bed Ted gave Andromeda a questioning look. Of course he knew who Antonin was to her and that he was one of the guys who'd spent an hour beating the crap out of him, but that didn't explain why Andromeda would go after him. It wasn't like Andromeda would ever avenge-

The doors opening again it was Dumbledore this time, leading the way as Mr. Filch and Professor Slughorn trooped into the room, Slughorn using magic to keep the final visitor aloof as he magically transferred the student to the closest unoccupied bed.

"Oh dear heavens." Madam Pomfrey squawked as she got a good look at the boy. "Whatever happened to him? He looks like he'd been run over by a herd of Hippogriffs!"

"I'm afraid we don't know, dear lady. Filch found him like this in one of the underground hallways and alerted me immediately. Looked to me as though the boy had been lying there for quite a while. He's a Slytherin but that's about all we know, his face is so swollen."

"Rookwood. He didn't show up for supper." Antonin informed them without even looking at his badly beaten friend. His eyes were focused totally on Andromeda. Watson was in St. Mungos, his own face was clawed and damaged, and now Rookwood appeared to have been beaten to a pulp. All in one day. And the only thing they had in common besides their house was the run in they'd had with the Mudblood earlier. The same Mudblood whose bed the Black bitch sat beside. And wouldn't his brother have something to say about that?

"it does seem to be a bad day for the Slytherin House." Dumbledore agreed while Madam Pomfrey examined her two new patients. "One can only hope that this will not be continuing, don't you all agree? Miss. Black, I should like it if you would pack up your things now. To be on the safe side I will escort you back to your dormitory while Professor Slughorn will remain with his students. Mr. Tonks will have to muddle through his homework alone tonight."

"I'll be fine, Headmaster. There's no need to trouble yourself on my account." Was her cool response. Andromeda got the distinct impression that the old man knew she was responsible for three of the attacks but she had no intention of confirming or defending herself. Just let him try to prove she'd done anything wrong. She'd welcome putting him in his rightful place. Directly under her heel.

"I insist."

"Do go with him. I'll do you proud on the test, I promise." Ted added earnestly, worried about her safety. He wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, but he didn't want a hair on her head disturbed either. He'd never forgive himself if she was hurt because she'd been out late helping him study.

He was giving her one of those weird looks again. The one that had her feeling all mushy and disgusting at the same time. "Fine then." Anything to escape being looked at that way by the stupid idiot, Andromeda thought with a small grimace. Gathering her few supplies together in her bag Andromeda stood up, sliding the satchel's strap over her shoulder. "Your essay was satisfactory, if a bit lacking in the research department."

"I get that a lot." Was his somewhat cheeky response.

"No doubt." Nodding her head stiffly, the closest she was going to give him to a good night, Andromeda didn't for a moment consider returning Ted's cheerful 'good night'

Walking over to stand at Dumbledore's side Andromeda didn't glance at either Rookwood or Antonin, instead acting like they didn't exist at all. They were so below her notice one of them could be gasping his last breath and she wouldn't turn a hair. Good riddens to bad rubbish if they did both die.

Leading her out before she pushed Dolohov too far Dumbledore motioned for her to lead the way as they walked side by side down the hallway.

)

Ignoring her headmaster Andromeda made no attempt to engage him in conversation. She saw no point in wasting valuable thinking time engaged in polite chatter about the weather or the school year. He knew her and her family well enough to know that she could care less what he thought of her.

"Tell me something, Miss Black, do you think we shall be having any more incidents like today?"

"I couldn't say, Headmaster. I am not a seer after all."

Amused by her cheeky response Dumbledore thought not for the first time what a waste it would be for someone like Andromeda Black to live the life her family had mapped out for her. She would fair no better than her sister Bellatrix, he thought sadly. And while Andromeda was a great deal saner than her older sister Dumbledore couldn't see her not withering away in a marriage of convenience, where her only purpose was to breed and behave as Purebloods should. There was life and spirit in her, just well hidden to all but a few.

"And how is your tutoring of Mr. Tonks going?"

"There are probably stupider students at this school. He'll pass."

Mouth twitching Dumbledore couldn't help but wonder if it was the Hufflepuff's grades or his crush on her that had Andromeda so annoyed. It was probably a combination of both. Personally he thought Ted Tonks' crush on her rather endearing, if extremely ill fated. In reality Dumbledore thought it would do Andromeda a great deal of good to be around someone like Ted, hence him pairing them up for the tutoring. Ted was someone who loved life and the little things, which was something that would do Andromeda a world of good to learn. If nothing else he hoped that perhaps Ted could soften the girl's view of Muggleborns and prevent her from following in her sister's dark path.

Knowing her well Dumbledore said none of this, seeing her to her dormitory without another word except 'good night'.

)

Shortly after the numerous attacks upon her house members Andromeda received a letter from her future fiancée informing her that once he got back from a business trip she was in a great deal of trouble. She wasn't worried. In fact, there was a part of her that hoped Nicolai would come and get physical with her. Andromeda knew her father's love was conditional, and that if she ever did anything to disgrace the family name he'd cut her off from the family without regret. But he was also a very civilized man, who distained anyone for letting their emotions get away from them. And he would not tolerate a man physically mistreating her without a damn good reason. And her father would be on her side when she told him what Antonin had said of her. By impinging her honor Antonin had casted a shadow on the name of Black. Her father would do worse than she if he knew.

And while her father would never let her refuse Nicolai's proposal when it came he could certainly break the unwritten agreement between their families if he felt Nicolai wasn't good enough for one of his daughters. And anyone could see she could do better. But she could only do better if she was allowed to consider those with blood less pure than her own. And that was the problem. Inbreeding was too prevalent in the old families and it showed. Those were the facts. Her older sister was beginning to scare her and Cissy didn't have original thoughts, she just echoed what she was told to think. The ancient and noble families were essentially polluting their blood while trying to save it. Anyone acceptable in her father's eyes was either closely related to them or with mental/physical ailments that were a direct result of their 'pure' blood. The irony wasn't lost on her.

She and Nicolai were fifth cousins, and their families had been intermarrying for centuries. Just thinking about what kind of ticking human time bomb they could create between them was nauseating. Societies needed influxes of fresh blood, it was just that simple. And it wasn't like she relished the idea of marrying someone of mixed blood, Andromeda mentally assured herself. She was, after all, a product of her class and breeding. But she also didn't want to bring a child into the world who would live a painful life because he or she was deformed or sickly or mentally unstable. A child doomed by its genetics alone.

That and being stuck with two parents who'd cared more about blood than the baby itself. Nicolai was sure to be a horrible father. Not that any son of hers would end up like the Dolohov men. That would happen over her dead and rotting corpse. But then again, if she pushed Nicolai too far…wasn't he perfectly capable of seeing her dead? In a fair fight she'd win but…and then who would see the child raised properly? Who would love it? Who would even mourn her passing? Would she have to let herself be broken just so that she could ensure the safety of a child she'd allowed brought into the world in the first place?

Because by Merlin she didn't want to marry that violent bastard.

But what other choice was there?

)

Stepping outside the classroom Ted was practically vibrating with happiness. He had just kicked serious test ass. He had never, ever, in all his sixteen years ever come out of a test so sure he'd aced it. He wasn't sure he'd ever actually aced a test now that he thought about it. Or at least not since elementary school when coloring in the lines was a big deal.

But he'd aced one today, Ted could feel it in his bones. Grinning like an idiot Ted called out greetings to everyone he knew in the hallways, spreading the joy as his smiles proved very infectious. And than he spotted the person responsible for his new Charms brilliance, standing by a stain glass window that threw a rainbow of shades across her still form. Beaming Ted hurried forward, wondering if she would be proud of him. Maybe she'd ever smile at him! A guy could dream after all.

But when he got close enough to make out her expression Ted stopped in his tracks. Her mood was the polar opposite of his own. She looked…sad. Sad and resigned. It made his heart hurt to see her look so drawn and beaten. She was looking towards the window as if for answers, he doubted she was even aware of the people passing by her, not even glancing in her direction. She was completely alone in a hallway full of people.

Not for long though.

Riffling around in his school bag Ted finally located the slightly battered package with a small "Aha." Taking a deep breath for courage Ted walked over to her and held it out towards her, watching her eyes drop down to evaluate before rising to meet his.

"Take it. Consider it a thank you for all your help."

Looking back down Andromeda could see that the package containing the Chocolate Frog had seen better days. It had probably been in his bag for a while, bumping up against books and whatever else the idiot carried around with him. And he wanted her to have it? This was his idea of a proper thank you?

"I know it looks a little rough around the edges but I'm sure it's still got plenty of hop left in it. Besides, it's chocolate. Chocolate always makes things a little better."

Her gaze was scornful as she met his gaze. "You honestly believe that something like chocolate can make things better?"

"What I mean is that chocolate makes a person feel better. And if they're feeling better than they aren't nasty to the people around them. And if those people are infected with positive thoughts instead of negative ones then they'll make the people they meet happier because they're happier than they were. Chocolate can't make me smarter or better looking, but it can put a smile on my face. Every little bit helps, you know?"

No, she didn't know. That his stupid argument made even a little sense annoyed her. And he kept holding the damn thing out to her, refusing to accept the fact that she didn't want his stupid chocolate frog. It wouldn't change anything after all. All chocolate did was give you a false sense of well being that faded as soon as the sugar left your system. There was absolutely nothing to be gained from the damn thing but added weight. Not that she had anything to worry about in that department but still, any girl who thought chocolate would get them over their personal issues didn't see the irony of eating something constantly that gave them a lot of those issues in the first place.

"Come on, you know you want it." Wiggling the box in front of her Ted's smile was teasing, his eyes bright as he forgot to be self conscious around her for the moment. She just didn't seem like herself at the moment, so above him as usual. "It's croaking your name." He added, trying and failing to elicit a smile.

"Do I look like a child to you?"

Looking her over from head to toe Ted had to shake his head. A child she was not. Heck, in heels she'd be taller than he was. And nobody wanted to get him started rhapsodizing about her curves and face and-

Annoyed, both at his words and actions, Andromeda was too tired to threaten or hex. She'd just take it and throw it away when he wasn't looking. "If I take it will you go away?" She asked, crossing her arms in front of her, trying to regain some of her poise.

Blinking it took a moment for Ted to realize she'd said something. "Sorry?"

"I said, if I take it will you go away? I have no wish for yours or anyone else's company right now."

Hah, success. A considering look on his face Ted couldn't resist pushing her just a little further, treating her as he would any girl. She was becoming more than just a dream to him and he was discovering that the real woman was just as wonderful and intriguing.

"I'll go…but you have to take a bite before I'll leave, just to make sure you don't just waste it by tossing it first chance you get." Because she would, he could see it in her eyes.

Andromeda was so annoyed that she snatched the package from his hand, tearing the gold packaging open so that the chocolate frog gave a loud croak of fright and tried to jump free. Catching the frog in mid air Andromeda kept her gaze on Ted as she brought the frog to her lips and viciously bit its head off.

"Happy now?" She asked threateningly as soon as she'd swallowed.

"Yup. I like a girl with a hearty appetite. See you after supper."

And with a jaunty wave Ted did as he'd promised, and left her to her thoughts and chocolate.


	5. The Way of Blacks

The Way of Blacks

Dressed in his everyday clothes Ted walked down the hallway, eager to head back outside and into the fresh air. He couldn't have asked for a better weekend and the only thing he could think of to make it better was to have Andromeda with him. Well a happy Andromeda, he amended, thinking of her recent bad mood. She'd seemed oddly subdue lately, though that was more his feeling than her giving any actual indication of her real feelings. At first he'd thought she was worried about what Rookwood and Dolohov would do to her, but Rookwood wasn't yet out of the infirmary and Dolohov seemed to be avoiding her. The older boy was in a strangely good mood too, despite still having angry claw marks across his cheek. The Slytherin seemed to be waiting for something…perhaps the same something Andromeda was inwardly dreading.

Hearing his name called Ted had a smile on his face as he turned to wave at his headmaster as he walked over to meet him half way. Unlike most people Ted wasn't the least intimidated by the famous Albus Dumbledore, possibly because up until five years ago he hadn't known the older man existed. To him he was simply another teacher and a kind one. "Good afternoon, Headmaster."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Tonks. I hear that you received top marks in your latest Charms test. I'm glad to see that the arrangement with Miss. Black is paying off."

"Yes, she's the best, isn't she?"

Amused by the obvious adoration in the boy's words Dumbledore had to resist the urge to pat the Hufflepuff on the head. If only the lady in question knew what she could have in this young man, Dumbledore thought to himself. They would actually make a lovely couple under normal circumstances. The boy was a delight, but he did need a keeper, and Miss Black would certainly keep him in line. And Mr Tonks would see to it that she didn't get too dark and serious, as she was prone to do. They would balance each other out nicely.

Wisely changing the subject to the beautiful weekend weather they'd been having as they walked they both came to an abrupt halt when they caught sight of three individuals who were not outdoors, enjoying the uncharacteristically good weather.

The first was Andromeda, dressed formally and severely with her hair ruthlessly pinned back. The dress was old fashioned and covering, it looked more like something an aged spinster would wear than a girl of seventeen. She stood alone, facing down the two men with her.

Ted couldn't have said why, but the picture before him made her think of an execution, the men waiting to place Andromeda's head beneath the waiting guillotine. So chilling and real was the image in his head that Ted instinctively stepped forward, stopped by a restraining hand on his shoulder. Giving the headmaster a look of frustration Ted's gaze turned back to the men who he sensed meant his beloved Andromeda harm.

The younger man was Nicolai Dolohov, the brothers looked a lot alike and he vaguely remembered the man from his first couple years at Hogwarts. He was tall and heavyset, his face harshly good looking. His eyes Ted remembered well, pale blue ice that lacked any humanity in them. You looked into them and knew their was no pity or soul in him.

The older, distinguished looking man Ted didn't know, but he had an air about him. The Black air. That certain something that set them all apart from everyone around them. Andromeda's father, he would bet on it.

Now that he had the players straight Ted tuned his ears in to eavesdrop, fully intending to get his ass kicked if she needed him to come in and give them someone else to beat on.

)

Cygnus Black stared down at his middle daughter, the Black family eyes showing no sympathy or kindness. He was not a man who had either in his character. While he did love his daughters in his own way, he loved the idea of his family and lineage more. The man at his side was the man he had picked out for his Andromeda and all three of them knew it. Nicolai had just told them his side of the story, now Cygnus waited to hear hers. And it had better be good.

"I did not attack the three because of the Mudblood, Father." Andromeda began softly, looking him directly in the eye so that he would see the truth in them. "I swear to you on the honor of our family. I did what I did because they sullied our great name and forced me to become indebted to a Mudblood."

Eyes narrowing dangerously Cygnus shut Nicolai up with a raised finger. "Explain, Daughter."

"The three Slytherins in question said in front of others, including the Mudblood, that I was nothing but a frigid, useless piece of pure blood waste and that it was a travesty that Nicolai was struck marrying the likes of me." And word for word Andromeda told her father exactly what Antonin and his friends had said about her. And then she dropped the bomb she knew would anger her father even more than the disparaging marks against her character. "And hearing these things said about me, a MUDBLOOD was so disgusted that HE came to my defense. Now everyone in this school and their families know that a Black needed a Mudblood to defend her honor. Now I have to tutor him because I owe him this favor. They snicker behind our backs now, Father. They call me his whore because I must spend time with him. And it's all Antonin's fault. THAT is why I saw him pay. No one disgrace our family name and walks away."

"Don't you blame this on my brother you-" Raising his hand it was obvious that Nicolai intended to slap her. And would have if Andromeda's father hadn't grabbed his wrist and painfully held it in an unbreakable hold.

"You will not raise your hand to my daughter." That he was furious could only be seen by those who knew him well. "And my daughter will not be apologizing to your brother or anyone else. You can tell your father I said so. And that he's lucky I don't kill your brother for this."

"Antonin's face may be permanently scarred because of her!" Was Nicolai's outraged response, humiliated that he couldn't break the older man's hold.

"Tell him it's less than what I will do to him if I see him anytime soon." Letting go of the younger man's wrist Cygnus neatly stepped between his daughter and the man he had thought would be her husband. "Now you get out of my sight before I lump you in with him."

Plainly furious the man marched off, leaving the two behind without a backward glance.

Turning his attention back to his daughter Cygnus's gaze was piercing. "I thought you were assigned to tutor the Filthy Mudblood before this mess happened?"

"I was, but I was going to get out of it, especially after the rumors started. Now I'm stuck. I'd much rather tutor him than have him ask for something else from me."

Andromeda had never been a liar, and he knew her tells. She spoke only the truth. Cygnus hadn't truly believed the filthy rumors circulating about his daughter, but he'd had to make sure. He thought he'd known his oldest daughter just as well, and even he felt like Bella was becoming a stranger to him. He considered going to the Headmaster and demanding the tutoring end, but his girl had a point. If that was all it took to erase the debt they apparently owed the Mudblood then so be it.

"You will bear with this as your punishment. This matter is now settled and any actions taken against the Dolohov family will be taken by me, understand?"

"Antonin said that much of his opinions came from Nicolai's lips." And here Andromeda knew she had to tread as carefully as a mouse before a sleeping cat. "I would not have him likewise poison the minds of future Blacks."

Seeing where she was going this Andromeda's father wasn't a fool. He had seen through her veneer and knew that she didn't respect or like Nicolai Dolohov. That hadn't concerned him until now, when he realized that Dolohov didn't have the sense to defend the Black family name. And how dare the impudent whelp think himself superior to the House of Black, he inwardly fumed. The Dolohovs were lucky they'd been allowed in the past to be linked to so pure and noble a line. Why oh why couldn't there be more Malfoys, Cygnus thought with a regretful sigh. Things would be so much easier for him. Or if he'd had sons. Life would have been so much better if the powers that be had only given him sons instead of daughters. But he was stuck with what he had, and it was his duty to see that they continued their bloodlines with men worthy of them.

"We will see." Was all Cygnus would commit to for the moment. After all, there weren't many other suitors to choose from, even though Andromeda was more than intelligent and beautiful enough to steal someone's intended if need be. "I expect you to continue as first in your year and as an example of the greatness of our line."

"Always, Father."

Satisfied the head of the Black family nodded his head and then turning on his heels left without a backward glance or even a good bye.

)

Like Andromeda Ted watched her father leave, shocked at the man's treatment of his daughter. No hug, no reassurance, no I would sooner have you marry a Muggle than that jerk. Not even a frickin good bye. The red haze that started to blur Ted's vision almost prevented him from seeing Andromeda dropped down to her knees, her face in her hands.

But he did and he was kneeling in front of her in a heartbeat, his voice worried as he tried to figure out whether she'd appreciate a hug from him or if that would make it worse. "Please don't be sad. Please don't be sad, Andromeda. I'm sure everything will be fine and you don't have to tutor me anymore and-"

"Hush." Raising her face Andromeda revealed that while her eyes shimmered a little no tears had fallen. "I'm not crying. Blacks don't cry."

But he bet they often wished they could, Ted thought as he continued to crouch there, since she seemed in no hurry to get up.

"And I'm still your tutor. I owe you."

"But I don't think of it as something you should owe me for, I would have done it for any girl." He probably would have attacked with less rage had it been someone else, but he would have still attacked. And he didn't want her to be around him because she felt she had to be.

How sad her life was, when the closest thing she had to a knight in shining armor was a skinny little Muggleborn, Andromeda thought as she listened to him go on and on about how he didn't owe her a thing. To shut him up she reached out and placed a finger over his lips, this shutting him up like a flipped switch.

"Because of you I might not have to marry Nicolai. He still might insist, but my father is angry and Nicolai's father is known to have a temper worse than a centaur's. I can hope now. Tutoring you is a small way I can say thank you. I won't let you say otherwise. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a headache."

And with that Andromeda got to her feet, brushed out the wrinkles in her dress, and headed back in the direction of her dorms with her back straight and pride in every step.

Standing off to the side, having left the comforting to the Hufflepuff, Dumblefore watched the girl go and hoped that the girl did indeed have reason to hope. And she had allowed the boy to show her sympathy and kindness, he thought, absently stroking his beard as he thought that one over. Most interesting indeed.

)

When Andromeda arrived for their scheduled meeting in the Potions classroom she saw immediately that not only had he beaten her there but that he appeared to be up to something. On the desk he stood behind there were two identical glasses, both clear and containing a dark brown liquid. He looked as eager and hyper as a child facing a visit to a candy store, was her first thought as she walked over to stand in front of the desk, giving both glasses a cursory look. The liquids were only slightly different in color, and she didn't recognize either of them.

"What's this?"

"Well you said you'd never had Coke or Pepsi." Ted explained, a goofy grin on his face. "So I went and bought both for you to try. I won't tell you which is which until you pick your favorite though."

With anyone else Andromeda would have hesitated, wondering if one or both of the unknown liquids was poisoned or laced with something. She was suspicious by nature. But she trusted this idiot Muggleborn for some reason. That and his face was generally an open book, his thoughts written there for all to see. You'd have to have nerves of steel to poison a Black. And being a Black Andromeda hoped she liked Pepsi more, knowing from their first lesson how much he liked his Coca Cola.

So she picked the first one up and took a delicate sip, the flavor settling on her tongue as she considered it. It was too sweet and sugary Andromeda decided, setting the glass down. Probably the Coca Cola, given the boy's apparent love of all things sugar, she thought in satisfaction.

"And the next one." Ted encouraged, wondering which one she'd tried first. He'd labeled the bottoms of the cup, not wanting her to pick Pepsi just to spite him. That's why he'd put them in the same glasses rather than just leave them in their bottles.

Andromeda briefly considered explaining to him how one was supposed to taste test and sample beverages. One was supposed to approach such things with a clean palette, not even really drinking the liquid so much as getting a sense of its bouquet and flavor. Of course any liquid created by a Muggle was probably meant to be consumed as quickly as possible so that they didn't have to taste for long the sugary garbage they produced. But such knowledge would be wasted on him, Andromeda decided, reaching for the second glass. Raising it to her lips she took a sip, her eyes widening at this new flavor.

Why it was wonderful, Andromeda thought as she instinctively took another, longer drink. It was the most wonderful thing she'd ever tasted in her life.

Watching her drain the glass Ted picked up the other glass and lifted it up so that he could see which one it was. The label he'd stuck there said Pepsi, which meant the one she was currently draining was Coca Cola. Grinning like an idiot Ted went and retrieved the half empty bottle of Coke and returned to her side. "Would you like me to top you off?"

Andromeda didn't understand the terminology, but she got the point. "Yes, please." Watching him as he refilled her glass she didn't have to guess which of the two drinks she'd picked. He looked like a cat that'd landed in a barrel full of cream. It was actually rather endearing, as well as amusing.

Once her glass was full Ted retrieved his own bottle of Coke and toasted in her direction before taking a swig of his own. "Ahhh. The drink of kings." He said with a sigh of satisfaction.

"Just what would you have done if I'd picked the other one?" Andromeda asked curiously, absently wondering why the boy's mother had never taught him how to properly drink something. One did not gulp it down like it was going to run away, one sipped and appreciated. Especially when one was drinking something so perfect as Coca Cola.

"I'd have been very, very sad." Was his serious reply.

Amused Andromeda just barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes at him. "Well we can't have that, can we?"


	6. A Friend By Any Other Name

A Friend By Any Other Name

After the showdown with her father Andromeda began to treat Ted differently. Not that they became buddy buddy or anything, but she slowly forced herself to stop heaping loads of distain on him and instead settled on the regular disdain she had for anyone of her own class and station. Since Ted was a Muggleborn, this was a huge leap for her to make. She didn't chat with him in the halls or hang out with him on weekends, but she didn't look at him like he was slime under her shoes either. A definite step up to Ted's way of thinking.

The tutoring continued, with Ted making considerable progress in his studies as he strove to impress the hell out of his girl. She wasn't overly impressed, but then again her standards were higher than most of the professors. She was able to tolerate him for over an hour at a time though, which was progress.

A week before Easter holidays found the two in the potion's lab, a boiling caldron in front of them as Ted dropped the latest ingredient into the pot.

"You're stirring too fast again, nice and slow, remember." Moving to stand behind him Andromeda reached around to place her hand over his, slowing down his stirring and forcing him to keep the rhythm steady and consistent. Always in a rush, this one.

Extremely aware of Andromeda directly behind him Ted let her control his stirring so that he could appreciate the smell of her skin and hair. She smelled of spring, something flowery that he couldn't name but that made his head spin in wonderful ways. Except when she caught him at it and let him have it for not paying attention. Then his head spun because she'd whacked him upside the head for it.

Sensing he was going off into la la land again Andromeda stepped back and grabbed the next ingredient needed, holding it out towards him until he took it.

"Sorry." Taking it from her Ted carefully measured out the correct dose and dropped it into the caldron. "So...uhm…got plans for Easter?" He asked, relieved beyond words when the contents of the caldron went a pale green the way it was supposed to.

"Nothing really. You?" She asked automatically, regretting it immediately. She needed his full concentration on the caldron, since with him being blown up was always a possibility. Ted and potions tended to be a lethal combination and nothing seemed to distract him more than conversations with her.

"Birthday party. Mine is actually right after we get back, but we're celebrating during the vacation. I'll be seventeen." He added proudly. In the Wizarding World turning seventeen would make him an adult, even though he'd have to wait another year in the Muggle one. He'd tried explaining that to his Mum, but she said he wasn't grown until she said he was and that that could be a lot longer than another year the way he behaved.

With his distractibility he would be lucky to make it to eighteen, Andromeda thought as she watched him add the chopped up Mandrake to the concoction. It was only a matter of time before the Death Eaters and Voldemort started openly hunting the Muggleborns, not just picking one off here and there. The Hufflepuff was no doubt high on Antonin and Nicolai's list of future hits. He'd stand about as much chance as a house elf against them. It would not be a quick death knowing them.

Andromeda was self aware enough to know that because of her upbringing she was more conditioned to kill than many of her classmates. She had been raised to see the extermination of a Muggleborn as being on par with the swatting of a fly. She was fairly certain she could kill someone and carry on without the guilt most were expected to feel. But she wasn't like the Dolohovs or Bella, Andromeda thought as she watched Ted stir the caldron. She would never draw out a death or torture as they seemed to delight to. If she absolutely had to kill the Muggleborn in front of her, she wouldn't want him to suffer any pain at all. She'd rather he not have to die period.

Startled by that last thought Andromeda didn't notice that Ted had added too much powdered slug until it was too late.

Watching his caldron begin to shoot out spurts of blue potion like just turned on fountains Ted immediately backed up, knowing from past experience that the further away from the potion he was the less likely he was to end up in the hospital wing.

"Well really." Waving her wand Andromeda caused the contents of the caldron to freeze in mid mini explosions. Hands going to her hips Andromeda leveled him with a look that would have done any teacher proud. "Do you know what you did wrong?" She demanded to know, knowing the potion was now ruined beyond repair.

"I either put too much or too little of the powdered slug. I'm thinking too much." He guessed, going with the fifty-fifty option, crossing his fingers for luck behind his back.

"At least you know what you did wrong. That's something at least." Turning back to the caldron Andromeda made its contents disappear. "We might as well put away the ingredients we didn't use and then pack up for the night. It's too late to start again."

"Sorry."

Helping Andromeda put the still usable ingredients back into their various containers Ted followed her into the storage area once they were done and handed them to her as requested so that she could put them in their proper places.

"Andromeda, I was wondering something." Ted began as he watched her lock up the storage room door once they were done. "Do you have any nicknames? What I mean is, a less formal name than your whole one. Like how people in my family sometimes call me Teddy instead of Ted."

"Teddy is longer than your first name."

Okay, bad example.

"Well you call your sister, the younger one, Cissy sometimes. I've heard you. I was just wondering if there was a shorter form for yours that she and your other sister use."

Eyes narrowing Andromeda didn't see where this was going. As it was she only allowed him to call her by her first name when they were alone. When they were in public she insisted he call her Miss. Black and she referred to him as Mr. Tonks. And that was when she called him by name at all. "Why do you want to know what my family call me?"

"Just curious."

"Dromeda. But you are not, under any circumstances, to call me that. Only my sisters call me that."

"Dromeda? That's an awful short form for your name." Paling a little as he realized what he'd just said Ted shot her a slightly fearful look. But she was just watching him with detached interest, the way she did when he'd said something she wasn't quite sure what to make of. Luckily his opinion of things rarely mattered to her. "What I mean is…well…uhm…Andromeda is a beautiful name but Dromeda doesn't sound lovely at all. It sounds more like the name of a car."

Blinking Andromeda's lips twitched, the sound that came from between them the closest Ted had ever heard to her laughter. Realizing it Andromeda slapped a hand over her mouth, too late to completely hide her reaction.

"You laughed." Pointing a finger in her direction a huge grin crossed Ted face as he moved to stand in front of her.

Removing her hand Andromeda forced her face to turn stern. "It's rude to point."

"Who cares about that, you laughed. I've never heard you laugh. Do it again."

"I was not laughing." Crossing her arms in front of her Andromeda was not about to admit that she'd found being compared to a car the least bit funny. But now that he mentioned it…it did sound like a rather good name for an automobile, didn't it?

"Well I think you did." Knowing how stubborn she was Ted knew it was pointless to try and drag another out of her. So instead he went back to their original topic. "So do your parents not call you by a pet name too?"

"No."

A thoughtful look on his face Ted decided he was feeling brave. "If we were friends I'd call you Andy."

"Andy? That's a boy's name." Dark eyes flaring up Andromeda was taking offence this time around. It was one thing to be compared to some Muggle contraption and another to be compared to a stupid boy. Not to mention the friends comment. As if that would ever happen. A Black was more likely to end up in the Gryffindor house.

"It doesn't have to be. And I've always liked it. I think it's cute."

"Well lucky me that we shall never be friends." And nose in the air Andromeda strolled off in the direction of her dorms, Ted wisely deciding not to walk her as far as she'd let him.

Maybe if next lesson he brought her an Easter egg she'd be in a better mood.

)

It was the second day of Easter holidays and Andromeda was not in a celebratory mood. That she was spending the day with Bella made it that much worse. Watching her older sister out of the corner of her eye Andromeda was glad that they'd run into an old school mate of her sister's. The two were so engrossed with what they were talking about that they seemed to have forgotten her presence. And that was fine with her.

Standing slightly apart from them Andromeda tried to recall when she had started to become afraid of Bella. It had been so gradual, she wasn't entirely sure she could put her finger on it. Bella had never been an easy or restful person; she'd always had an explosive and rather vindictive nature. She'd never been as nasty to her and Cissy as she'd been to people outside their family, but even they had not escaped her wrath at times.

Andromeda wished she could blame Bella's current state on her brother in law or the Dark Lord, but really, if she were honest, they'd simply allowed Bella the freedom to be as wicked as she wanted. Before Bella had married and gotten involved with the Death Eaters her older sister had restrained herself to an extent and had followed their society's guidelines for proper behavior. Or at least she had in public. But her brother in law couldn't control Bella the way their father always had and Voldemort seemed to only encourage Bella's bad behavior. Trying to make her as monstrous as he was, she thought.

Andromeda feared he would succeed.

"We're going now, Dromeda."

Instantly turning her attention back to her sister Andromeda nodded, as regally as a queen as she returned her sister's classmate's good bye.

Bella waited until they were walking once more before letting the sneer cross her wildly handsome features. "Stupid little chit. Like I don't know what she's up to, acting like we're old friends. That she would even think the Dark Lord would have any interest in her or her family…I ought to hex her for even thinking it."

"You'll only get yourself into trouble. There are too many people around who would speak up." Andromeda warned softly, her stomach cramping up as she noticed the way Bella was twirling her wand between her fingers. Never a good sign.

"Like anyone here could match me."

"Obviously not, but your Dark Lord won't like it if you draw unnecessary attention to yourself before he wishes it." Andromeda hated even speaking of him, but she knew that nothing else would rein her sister in. She knew her sister had been at some secret meeting the night before, and Bella was always at her worst after a visit with her master.

"Yes, you're right. He would not like it." Bellatrix purred out, the thought of her lord settling her down.

Watching the fanatical gleam fade from Bellatrix's eyes Andromeda forced herself not to breathe a sigh of relief. It wouldn't do for her sister to know how much she disapproved. She was already in the hot seat with her over Ted and the fight with Nicolai. The Dark Lord had wanted her to marry the eldest Dolohov and was apparently making it known that he was not at all pleased to hear that the Blacks and Dolohovs were currently not speaking. Since Bella was the only one in their family to have officially joined Voldemort's numbers she was getting the brunt of his disapproval. Most of the Dolohovs, including Antonin and Nicolai, were Death Eaters, hence Voldemort's siding with them.

"What do we have left to pick up, anyway?"

"You said you wanted to stop off at Peppernickel's to pick up some new shirts for Rodolphus."

Grimacing, since she didn't so much want as had to, Bellatrix none the less changed direction so that they were headed towards the store in question. That she should have to go shopping for her useless husband when she could be doing something to serve her master infuriated her more than she could say. But the stupid man was useful in her lord's eyes and until that was otherwise she'd have to bear it. For her master's sake.

Silently the two headed into the store, Andromeda leaving her sister to her bad mood as she wandered the aisles aimlessly, as this store provided men's clothing only. There was nothing she could possibly need here. Spotting one of her mother's friends out of the corner of her eye Andromeda instinctively moved out of sight, not wanting to be caught in a conversation with the gossipy know it all. Bellatrix wasn't as lucky, Andromeda thought with a wince as she heard the old woman call out her sister's name. Now there was a combination that could end very badly.

Moving with the intention to go over and referee Andromeda's eyes instinctively veered when they saw something in her favorite color. Turning her head Andromeda walked over to study the cobalt blue dress shirt being displayed by one of the store's mannequins, eyes taking in the size and cut while she forgot all about her sister. It was obviously intended for a younger man, and a gangly man at that. It was a little too big for someone of Ted's size, but he was probably still growing. Or at least she hoped he was for his sake.

"Are you interested in purchasing that particular shirt, Miss. Black? We only have that one left I'm afraid." Nervously coming up behind her the owner of the store did his best not to fidget as the young woman turned to give him her complete attention. Of the three Black sisters this one was the least volatile, but he still dreaded her reaction if she had hoped to find that particular shirt in her father's size. Not that he could imagine her father wearing so bright a color, but perhaps the girl thought to brighten up the older man's wardrobe. He could not see that going over well, so perhaps the shirt's small size was a blessing in disguise.

"I'll take that shirt. I don't require a bag."

Eyes widening the owner knew better than to question her. Removing the shirt from the display he led her to their sales area to neatly fold it up for her, only speaking to her when necessary as he rung in the purchase.

Watching him it took all of Andromeda considerable control not to slip into shock. She was buying something for the Muggleborn. It had been an impulse, the words out of her mouth before she could control them. She hadn't meant to buy the stupid Muggleborn a shirt, Andromeda thought, even as she handed over the appropriate amount of coins. Why would she? She didn't just randomly buy things for people, much less people she didn't have to buy for. And she couldn't take back the words now, could she? Not without seeming stupid or indecisive.

Had she lost her bloody mind?

Accepting the purchase automatically Andromeda had only enough time to slip the shirt into one of her shopping bags before Bellatrix appeared at her side, looking more than a little vexed.

"There you are." Bellatrix's voice was unnecessarily harsh as she pushed the shirts she'd picked out in the direction of the clerk, her eyes remaining on her sister while the clerk and owner hastened to ring in her purchases before she blew.

"I thought you'd come here as soon as you were finished. I didn't want to have to deal with people trying to get past me in the aisles."

"Hmph." Instincts telling her something was up Bellatrix's eyes narrowed, trying to pick out just what it was about her sister that was off. But Dromeda had always had one hell of a poker face and the girl was giving nothing away. People had always compared her to fire and Andromeda to ice. The comparison had always been an apt one.

Meeting her sister's gaze squarely Andromeda was relieved when the owner distracted her sister with the total for her purchases. Once all was paid for Andromeda ushered Bella out the door before the owner could ruin everything by mentioning her own purchase.

Her sister would kill her on the spot if she knew.


	7. Hard To Deal With

Hard To Deal With

Sitting in the Hufflepuff common room Ted looked up when someone said his name. Putting down the book he'd been reading Ted gave the prefect from Andromeda's year a questioning look. They'd all just got back from Easter holidays that afternoon and he hadn't had time to get into any trouble yet.

"Her royal highness asked me to tell you that she expects your presence at the Potion's Lab after dinner." Rolling his eyes the prefect's dislike of Andromeda Black was plain in every syllable. His pity for Ted was just as obvious.

"Thanks."

"Just a heads up, she looked to be in a pretty bad mood. I saw her family at the station when they came to drop her and her sister off and they did not look like they'd had an enjoyable family holiday together. Not that I can recall ever seeing a Black look happy." The prefect amended with a thoughtful look on his face.

Ted spoke without thinking. "She's beautiful when she is."

Raising an eyebrow the prefect knew better than to ask. The poor kid's crush on the Black princess was well known throughout the school. But as someone older and in charge of the Hufflepuffs younger than him, the prefect felt obligated to warn the kid. "You do realize that she's out of your reach right? And that that's actually a good thing. You don't want to get involved with her, trust me. We've been classmates for seven years, prefects together since fifth year. She couldn't even remember my first name, kid. She probably had to ask someone for my last, come to that. Even if you were a pure blood…you still wouldn't stand a chance."

This was nothing new, EVERYONE told him that.

But what could he say; he was a glutton for punishment. But he understood where the man was coming from, and honestly thanked him for the advice.

He just hoped he wasn't in for some punishment ASAP.

)

Arriving at the dungeon as ordered after dinner Ted took one look at Andromeda and knew he was in big trouble. Her back was to him, but she was giving off an aura that suggested she was ready to go off at any moment. There would be very little of him left if that should happened.

Approaching her as cautiously as possible Ted very slowly slid into a seat beside her, looking straight ahead instead of at her. He wouldn't acknowledge her until she acknowledged him. It seemed like the safest thing to do.

Slowly turning her head Andromeda looked at him until he finally turned his head, the fear plain in his bright blue eyes. Ironically enough, it was the fear that made her feel more inclined to cut him a break. As long as he knew to fear her she didn't have anything to worry about, Andromeda decided. Reaching over to her right Andromeda grabbed the plastic bag she'd set there and slid it down the length of the desk to rest front of him. "We will never speak of this again." She announced, her eyes making it clear that her edict was not to be questioned.

Eyebrows raised Ted looked down at the bag like he expected something to jump out and bite him. It was pretty flat and it wasn't moving though. That was encouraging. Looking from the bag to her Ted's eyebrows went even higher when he saw that she was making a big production of not looking at him. Eyes going back to the bag Ted took a deep breath and then reached out and opened the bag, tilting his head to the side so that he could see the contents.

A confused look coming over his face Ted reached in and pulled out what to him looked like a simple, blue, dress shirt. Holding it up Ted studied it for a moment then looked over at her again.

"Is it bewitched to do something horrible?"

A definite twitch appeared under Andromeda's left eye. "No."

Okay…he had no idea what was going on. Because if it was a normal shirt, and there was nothing wrong with it, and she was giving it to him…well then that would make the shirt a gift, wouldn't it? A present for him? From her? Was such a thing even possible?

"This…is for me…from you…to keep?" He asked slowly, when it became clear from her silence that she wasn't going to enlighten him on her own.

"Yes. And if you want to live you'll shut up now and mention this to no one, especially me."

Turning his attention back to the shirt Ted didn't know what to say exactly. He got the distinct impression she didn't want a thank you, which was his first instinct. There was probably a way to thank her without making her mad, but he just wasn't smart enough to think of it. That and his brain was currently functioning even less than normal.

She'd given him a gift.

Wow.

Sneaking a peek in his direction Andromeda felt her ire rising at the stupid grin on his face as he stared at the shirt like it held the secret to eternal life. She'd been hoping that he'd hate it, especially since he'd never struck her as the type that would wear dressy clothes unless he had to. But didn't he just look delighted, she thought bad-temperedly.

In some part of her mind Andromeda knew she was being ridiculous, that the whole point in buying a gift was to make the receiver happy, but she'd never been one to think something just because everyone else thought so and she wasn't about to start now. If she was she would have had an enjoyable holiday, instead of spending it on eggshells because of her family and their new best friend, the Dark Lord.

She alone would never trust or respect him, it seemed. How the others couldn't see through him was a mystery to her. And the difference in opinion about him was getting her into trouble.

Deep, deep trouble.

Carefully folding up the shirt like it was a delicate treasure once he'd looked his fill, Ted transferred it back into the bag and then put the bag in his school satchel, which he'd brought along just in case. When that was done he decided to at least try a somewhat convoluted thank you, praying she wouldn't jinx him silly.

"You know, I don't have many dress shirts, and one of my cousins is getting married this spring. I'll tell everyone I bought that very handsome shirt for that special occasion and wear it proudly."

Turning her head to look at him Andromeda's eyes clearly announced what an idiot she thought he was. "Just get out your Potions textbook already."

"Getting out the Potions textbook."

)

Fishing the textbook out from his satchel Ted was just about to pass it over to her when the dungeon door crashed open, Andromeda automatically turning around with wand drawn, while Ted just turned in his seat, being curious as opposed to worried.

The two individuals who'd caused the disruption weren't even aware of their audience owing to the fact that they were too busy snogging each other's brains out. The man was Ren Bromwell, a well known womanizer who had been chasing after every good looking girl in a skirt since his arrival at Hogwarts. Neither Ted nor Andromeda recognized the girl, but whoever she was she certainly was noisy.

Feeling her temper boiling up to the surface once more Andromeda stowed her wand in her robes and marched over to the two, thinking they looked like two landed fish trying to suck the air out of each other's bodies to save themselves. Judging from the disarray of their clothing she didn't have to wonder just why they'd come into the dungeon so late at night and were so oblivious to their company.

When clearing her throat loudly in front of them didn't work Andromeda reached out, grabbed the man's ear, and twisted it painfully.

That worked.

Breaking off the kiss Ren looked over, a slow grin sliding over his face as he saw who stood before him, not even noticing Ted in the background. He was half drunk, he and some of his mates had managed to get their hands on some whiskey earlier in the day, and he was feeling good. Too good to use what brains he'd been given to realize the severity of the situation, and how stupid it would be to make another pass at the luscious ice queen before him.

"Well ello, Black. Care to join us?" Reaching out Ren grabbed her by the waist and attempted to pull her in for a kiss, getting a resounding slap across the face for his troubles as she all but hissed at him in fury.

While both women watched the Gryffindor clutch his face and swear profusely Ted appeared at Andromeda's side, looking almost as mad as Ren did as he moved to stand in front of Andromeda. "Don't you talk like that in front of either of them, Bromwell. Apologize to them both at once." He was so mad, his hands were shaking.

"And who's going to make me, Hufflepuff?" The Gryffindor sneered, not the least worried as he tried to hide how much the slap had hurt. After all, he was just as tough as Dolohov, or at least he was in his own mind. And if the Slytherin could kick the kid's ass then he certainly could, Ren thought as he deliberately looked down his nose at the kid.

Ignoring both men Andromeda turned her attention to the girl who was frantically re-buttoning her shirt up now that she'd realized her gross stupidity. A Gryffindor from the uniform, Andromeda noted as she watched the girl focus on her with blant terror. "You're a stupid twit if you think an ill bred piece of slime like Bromwell is worth giving up your honor and self respect for." Andromeda informed her, not mincing words. "If you have even an ounce of intelligence you'll go back to your tower this instant and stay there until you know how to conduct yourself in public."

Bursting into tears the girl whirled around and was out the door before the two men facing off could comment or even realize what had happened.

Realizing the girl was gone only when the door slammed shut Bromwell turned his attention from the Hufflepuff to the Slytherin who sneered at him so superiorly. "Dammit, you Slytherin bitch! No wonder not even a Slytherin would have you, you frigid-."

What he would have said was unknown, due to Ted's fist connecting with his face.

Ren hitting the floor with a thud Andromeda and Ted moved to stand over him, looking down at the unconscious Gryffindor with interest.

"I finally won a fight." Ted announced proudly, even as he rubbed his now aching hand.

Andromeda thought about pointing out that beating up someone like Bromwell wasn't exactly difficult, but decided instead to let him have his moment in the spot light. He'd probably never be in his current situation ever again, she thought cynically.

He did seem to be making it a habit of coming to her defense though. Hurting himself every time doing it too, Andromeda noted as she watched him carefully flex his hand. But at least he hadn't broken anything; that was a welcome change of pace.

"Uhm…what do we do with him now?" Ted asked, suddenly realizing that there might be bigger consequences than an aching hand to be paid. This was also sure to get the gossipers riled up again too, he thought with a wince. And here the rumors about him and Andromeda had just started to die down. Of all the rotten luck.

"Leave him there."

Ted looked from her back to the man lying on the floor. "But…wouldn't it get really cold down here at night, seeing as its underground and all? And he is lying on the floor…what if he gets sick with pneumonia or something and dies?"

"Then the world will be a better place."

"You don't mean that." Then seeing the look in her eye Ted changed that thought. "Okay, you do mean that. He's not a Muggleborn, you know."

Raising an eyebrow Andromeda looked over at the Hufflepuff with a questioning look in her dark eyes. "You think that the only people I would wish dead in this world are people like you?"

Ted knew better than to lie, she'd see right through him. "Well no. I'm sure you like actual Muggles and non magical creatures even less."

Perhaps he wasn't nearly as stupid as he looked, Andromeda thought, but did not say. Any compliments from her tended to go straight to his mostly empty head. "You're not wrong…but there is plenty of my own kind or the half bloods who I wouldn't mind seeing dead either. I suppose you could just say I'm not a people person in general."

"We get along okay. Sort of. Maybe. Never mind. Forget I said that."

Lips threatening to twitch into a smile Andromeda gave him her back, just in case she wasn't able to hide it. "We'll leave him there for now. If he isn't conscious by the time your lesson is over we'll bring him above ground and dump him outside the Great Hall. Now back to work, we're wasting valuable time."

"Yes, ma'am!"

)

Bromwell still hadn't regain consciousness by the time the lesson was over and so Ted had to use magic to transport the Gryffindor out of the dungeon and up the staircases. Andromeda had to teach him the spell first, and she was getting quite a bit of amusement watching the foolish boy accidentally causing various parts of Bromwell to hit walls and the stairs. The Muggleborn really was worth keeping around, she thought with the smallest of smirks, if only for his entertainment value.

Wincing and calling out sorries every time Bromwell hit something Ted had a feeling the Gryffindor was going to be black and blue shortly.

"You do know he's unconscious and can't hear you."

"Yeah, but still, subconsciously he might be able to hear me."

"Thinking that makes you almost as stupid as that Gryffindor girl he was with." Was Andromeda's opinion, not bothering to warn him that he was about to send Bromwell's head into a piece of armor.

The git's head hit it with a nice, loud thunk.

"Sorry, sorry. Damn, I'm libel to kill him this way. Pardon my language." Ted added with more wincing. At the very least he'd just insured that the man would have one hell of a bump come morning. Maybe even a concussion. Turning to look in Andromeda's direction Ted didn't have to guess that if he'd been about to accidentally skewered the man on a sword she wouldn't say a word.

"You wish to say something to me?" She asked, silently challenging him to call her on what he probably saw as bad behavior on her part.

"Uhm." He just didn't have the balls. "I was thinking about that poor girl. She must be so mortified right now."

"As she should be. Any woman who would go around snogging the likes of Ren Bromwell should be mortified. They give the rest of us a bad name and deserve what they get. How there are so many of them is beyond me."

Ted couldn't be more pleased that she distained someone like Bromwell. A lot of girls went gooey over the man because he was so good looking. But as far as he was concerned the man didn't deserve to breathe the same air as his angel.

"And what do they get out of it really." Andromeda continued, crossing her arms in front of her as she continued to speak. "As if snogging is so wonderful that it's worth your reputation and honor. Anyone who thinks so needs a good round of shock spells from St. Mungo's."

Ted spoke without thinking. "Well I wouldn't go that far."

"Is that so?" Her gaze was piercing as she stared at the Muggleborn who'd dared to contradict her to her face.

"Well what I mean is…snogging can be a wonderful thing, and worth risking getting into trouble."

"And you've snogged a lot of girls?" Andromeda's skepticism was written all over her face.

Ted went red all the way to the tips of his ears. "Well I…I wouldn't say…I mean… a gentleman never…I've…I've never had any complaints." He finally managed to stammer out, going even redder under her gaze.

"And you just assume that women tell you men when you're lousy kissers?"

"I dated a girl named Claire once, and she never stopped finding things about me to complain about. If I'd been a bad kisser on top of everything else she would have said so. Often. Believe me."

Raising an eyebrow Andromeda had to ask. "If she was such a complainer than why did you go around snogging her in the first place?"

Because she'd looked a little like Andromeda and he'd thought she was the closest he'd ever get to dating his dream girl. She'd even reamed him out constantly the way he'd always figured Andromeda would do if she were ever to speak to him. But he certainly couldn't tell her that.

"People do some strange things." Was the best excuse he could come up with, deciding to distract her with something else to think about. "You shouldn't write snogging off, you know. I think it was Robert Burns who said,

Humid seal of soft affections,  
Tend'rest pledge of future bliss,  
Dearest tie of young connections,  
Love's first snow-drop, virgin kiss."

Shaking her head Andromeda only had one thing to say to that.

"Only a Muggle would be stupid enough to think that about snogging."


	8. Doing Research

Doing Research

Andromeda now had one more reason to be annoyed with Ted Tonks, and she really hadn't needed a new one on top of all the others. Thanks to those stupid lines of poetry he'd told her about she couldn't forget them and was now obsessed with thinking about snogging. She'd never been obsessed with snogging. She hated snogging. Snogging led to groping and a tongue jammed down her throat so that she choked on it. Snogging was to be avoided the way you avoided hearing a Mandrake scream. It was just common sense.

But she couldn't forget what the Hufflepuff had said no matter how stupid she knew it to be.

Against her will Andromeda found herself on the lookout for people snogging. Much to her fascination and horror, people around her all seemed to like snogging a great deal. She also found it interesting that the students from the other houses appeared to be snogging each other a lot more than her own housemates were. In fact, her fellow Slytherins were a lot more reserved in the public displays of affection period. Normally she would have approved of that, but unfortunately it gave her a really mortifying hypothesis to consider.

Maybe it wasn't snogging in itself that was horrible. Maybe Slytherins were just horrible at it.

Cissy actually liked snogging Lucius and had told her so. But they were both Slytherins and Lucius was the only boy her little sister had ever snogged as far as she knew. So what could Cissy really know about good or bad snogging? And what if Slytherins were just intrinsically bad at snogging and therefore that was why they always married inside their house? Could their constant inbreeding have destroyed that ability too? What else were they crappy at because of it? Just thinking about it made her head hurt and the idea that there was something Ted Tonks could possibly be better at than her was haunting.

The fact that she really didn't have a way to confirm any of her theories royally peeved her off.

)

Walking down the hallway a week after Ted's revelation Andromeda stopped abruptly at the sight of a couple snogging in front of her by the library. What was with the fates, sending these undisciplined people to interrupt her peaceful meditative walks? Were they trying to make her head explode like a dropped pumpkin?

Giving some thought to telling the two of them off for such a public display of affection Andromeda's annoyance and ire was distracted by the fact that she recognized the couple from that day when she'd gone to visit her idiot student in the medical wing. Not that she didn't know who both of them were, their families were as old as hers. Neither of their families was as wealthy or as prestigious, but the Prewetts and the Weasleys were well respected.

And if the way they were snogging was anything to go by, there would be lots of little Weasleys running around the school in twenty years time.

Somewhat amused by the idea Andromeda considered the two people currently busy sucking on each other's faces. Molly Prewett was not a beautiful woman. She was, at best, pretty, but with a figure that indicated her curves were likely to only grow with time. Similarly Arthur Weasley wasn't much of a prize either in her opinion. He was very tall, almost as painfully thin as Ted, and had bright red hair that looked ready to recede already. But the two had been together since their forth year and she could definitely see them being together forever.

Unless of course they both got themselves killed fighting for the Muggle cause once they graduated, Andromeda mentally amended. Their families' political leanings had always been clear. Arthur Weasley wouldn't be much of a challenge in a duel, but the Prewett girl was pretty tough thanks to her older brothers' teachings. Crossing her would be hazardous for the average witch or wizard.

Andromeda was so deep in thought about who she knew in her house who could or couldn't beat Molly Prewett that she didn't even notice the girl in question sending her boyfriend on his way so that she could confront the Slytherin who'd totally ruined her planned alone time with her man.

"What's your problem?"

Snapping out of her thoughts at the bitchy attitude being aimed her way Andromeda looked down and met the gaze of the freckled, hands on her hips Gryffindor. "Pardon?" She responded with so much ice in her voice it was a wonder the hallway weren't encased with it.

"I asked what your problem was. You were totally staring before and you freaked Arthur out. Do you have any idea how long it took me to get him to go past second base without him blushing as red as his hair?"

"His face can go as bright as his hair?"

Molly's eyes narrowed threateningly, her stance combative. "Are you going to tell me why you were staring or not? I mean seriously, it can't be the first time you've seen two people snogging before."

"That's true enough. People seem to be doing it with alarming regularity recently." Tilting her head to the side Andromeda gave the other girl a considering look as an idea occurring to her. They weren't friends, not remotely, but she did know enough about the girl's reputation to know that she was dealing with someone who was a tell it like it is sort. She was someone who definitely wouldn't be the least bit embarrassed to discuss something like snogging either. And as much as she hated the fact Andromeda did now that she needed to talk to someone outside her house if she was going to get anywhere. She didn't know any of the other female students at Hogwarts better than she knew the one before her and she really could care less what the Gryffindor thought of her. A definitely plus in this case, especially if she was careful with her phrasing, the Slytherin thought to herself. "May I ask you a question?" She began, doing her best to keep her tone pleasant and nonthreatening. The threatening would come later if need be.

"Is it going to make me want to curse you?" Molly shot back, curious despite herself. It wasn't like the princess to admit she didn't know something after all.

Andromeda considered that for a moment. "I don't think so."

Molly slid her hand into her robe pocket just in case, deciding to hear the other woman out before she answered with words or wand. "Okay…what's the question?"

"You like snogging him, your boyfriend. Why?" Seeing the fiery flames that leapt into the woman's eyes Andromeda quickly realized that she should have been more specific. "I don't mean that as an insult to him, though I admittedly don't see his appeal. I meant in general. Why do you like snogging?"

"Why should I answer you now?" Nobody said bad things about her man but her.

"Because I asked you to and you have nothing to lose my doing so."

"If you weren't a Slytherin I'd find this all very, very weird." Shaking her head Molly weighed her options and the possible consequences, finally deciding there wasn't any harm in answering. Besides, then the Slytherin princess would owe her a question in return which could be somewhat interesting.

"I like snogging because it feels good. You just wouldn't know that because all the guys who snog you are Slytherins. Not to mention I've seen the way Dolohovs snog their women. They look like they're trying to swallow their unfortunate victims whole. I bet you've never been properly snogged in your life." And here she'd never thought she'd have a reason to feel sorry for a Black, Molly thought as her lips twitched.

That was a pretty fair description of her hopefully ex suitor's snogging technique. Andromeda disliked the dig against her house though. It was one thing for her to think it, and an entirely other thing for a Gryffindor to suggest it.

Picking up on the other woman's annoyance Molly figured she should get in her one question before Andromeda caused her to lose her temper. "Since I answered your question I've got one of my own. Are you planning to help the rest of your family kill my friends?"

Andromeda blinked. Well that was direct. "I have no intention of randomly going out and killing Muggleborns if that's what you mean. I think the Dark Lord is as fraudulent and dangerous as you probably do."

Molly's surprise was written all over her face.

"And that's all either of us has to say to each other." Giving Molly her back Andromeda walked off, pausing when the other woman called out her name. Not bothering to turn around Andromeda decided to hear her out. "Yes?"

"Try not to become too evil, okay? Ted really likes you for some reason."

Surprised, Andromeda didn't know quite what the think about the last part of her request. So she kept her response short and sweet. "I'll keep that in mind."

)

That evening Ted entered the Potions lab, silently hoping he was ready for another grueling Potions lesson. Closing the door behind him the Hufflepuff hurried over to set his bag on top of the desk near the caldron Andromeda was standing by. Knowing better than to attempt chit chat Ted withdrew his Potions' textbook and held it out to her without a word.

Taking the book from him Andromeda studied it and then set it back down on the desk beside the Hufflepuff's satchel. Seeing the confusion in the boy's face Andromeda forced herself to not reveal anything in her voice as she spoke her well rehearsed speech. "You owe me for the shirt."

"Okay…" Confusion growing Ted stared at her blankly. "You want me to pay you for it?"

"Please. I probably have more money lying around my bedroom than you have in your whole bank vault."

"Actually, I have a bank account, not a vault. Though I guess it sort of is kept in a vault, but not the way your money is." And she probably couldn't care less, Ted thought to himself, trying to focus. "And sorry, you were saying I owed you. If you don't want money…what do you want from me? What could I possibly have that you could want?"

"I don't want to…but it's going to drive me batty otherwise." Rubbing at her temples in a rare show of tension it was obvious that Andromeda was being stressed out.

Concerned, Ted would have given her a hug if they were friends. But they weren't friends and she'd made it quite clear she wasn't remotely interested in becoming so. So instead he quietly waited for her to explain what she wanted from him. He wished he could tell her that whatever she wanted from him it was hers, but he wasn't quite that stupid. There were far too many things she could ask for that would be beyond him.

Forcing her composure back into place Andromeda's eyes were piercing as she stared into Ted's startled weary eyes. "You told me before, last week, that snogging was a wonderful thing. Everyone from the houses other than mine seem to think so too. I want to know if it's intrinsic to my house or the men who've snogged me are just terrible at it."

Ted blinked, plainly confused. "Okay…how can I help?" She couldn't be asking him to snog a male Slytherin, could she? Because that was just not something he was willing to do. Maybe she wanted him to get one of his female friends to snog a Slytherin? That was only a little less hard to imagine but just as impossible. Well unless Andromeda could guarantee the poor girl's safety and be willing to pay her. A lot.

"You said you weren't a bad snogger. Prove it."

"Uhm…how?"

He couldn't be that thick, could he? Considering what she'd learned about him since their first meeting, yes, yes he could be.

Sighing Andromeda walked up so that they were practically nose to nose, the boy's eyes going as big as tea saucers as he froze like someone had used a body binding curse on him. Reaching out Andromeda flicked him with her fingers between his eyes, somewhat relieved when he blinked. That was somewhat reassuring.

"Andromeda…?"

Crossing her arms in front of her Andromeda glared at him. "I don't think it's asking too much of you to give me one little kiss." And now her eyes darkened even more. "Understanding of course that I will kill you if you even think about bragging about this to anyone later on. And they will NEVER find your body. Ever. I guarantee it. And just one, got it? And you have to stop as soon as I tell you to." She was not being snogged by him longer than she had to be.

She'd lost him at the kiss request. Ted didn't even hear the death threats.

Annoyed with him Andromeda was quickly losing her patience with him. "If I just snog you I won't know if my theory is right or not. So will or won't you? We don't have all night, you know."

"You're..sure…really? You really want me to kiss you?" Ted thought about pinching himself, but not even his vivid imagination could conjure up something like this. For one thing, if he was dreaming she wouldn't look so annoyed with him. And besides, if this was a dream he sure as hell didn't want to wake up.

"It's not that I want to kiss you." Cheeks flushing with color it took all of Andromeda's composure not to fidget like a little girl. "I just don't have any male acquaintances in any of the other houses that I would trust to be…discreet about this. Don't flatter yourself into thinking I would want a Muggleborn of all people to snog me."

Wow. He'd never flattered himself enough to think she would ever want to kiss him. But she trusted him, Ted thought with a small smile. She trusted him enough to believe he wouldn't tell anyone about her request. That was almost as nice as the fact that she'd picked him. Maybe he was the only man from another house that she was on speaking terms, but there were purebloods in the other houses too. He was still a Muggleborn after all. But she'd chosen him anyway. Double wow.

"Well?"

Getting the fact that it was now or never Ted gulped hard, his forehead breaking out in a sweat as he forced himself to lift his shaking hands to frame her face. Well, Ted, this is going to be your one and only chance to snog the girl of your dreams, he told himself sternly as he leaned in. Don't screw up.

Lightly brushing his lips against hers Ted carefully settled his mouth against the softness of her, keeping the contact sweet and gentle as he sampled what he'd always thought of as the most forbidden of fruits. Sweet, so sweet, Ted thought as his lips moved against hers, keeping his touch light so that if she wanted to get away she could. He prayed she'd never want to though, because she tasted better than Coke, chocolate and cherry pie. Better than anything he could have ever imagined.

Andromeda had never been touched or snogged by a man this way. His touch and lips were so gentle, so soft and kind that they left her breathless and shaky. He was like a hummingbird, she thought in some dim corner of her mind, tasting her mouth with such beautiful, bewitching care. She wanted it to go on forever and ever.

But she was still a Black, and he was still a Muggleborn, and when he pulled back to give them both some air Andromeda automatically took a couple steps back while her body loudly protested. Head clearing slowly but surely Andromeda wrapped her arms almost protectively around her waist.

"Thank you for giving me my request." She finally said stiffly.

It took Ted a good minute or so to answer. "My pleasure."

Making a concrete effort not to blush again Andromeda looked over at the textbook she'd set down on the desk. She knew she should begin the lesson, and act like nothing had just happened, but she wasn't quite that in control just yet.

Well she had her answer now, Andromeda thought with dark humor. It was just Slytherins who sucked at snogging. They sucked big time in comparison. The men anyway. But what about the women?

Eyes automatically moving towards Ted's direction Andromeda wasn't sure what to think. He didn't look angry or smug, that being the way men usually acted and looked after snogging her. The difference in reactions was probably a good sign all things considering. But that didn't mean he'd necessarily enjoyed being snogged by her and she had too much pride to ask.

Lost in his blissful state of being it took Ted a while to clue in to the fact that they were both just standing around like idiots. And while that wasn't exactly unusual for him it was for her.

"Is something wrong, Andromeda?" Maybe he'd offended her, or she hadn't liked it, Ted thought frantically, his facing losing all its color. What if she didn't want to tutor him anymore now? What if she didn't want to even talk to him? Those thoughts alone were enough to have him close to ringing his hands in a panic.

Pride had Andromeda's shoulders straightening as she stood up to her full height. "Nothing is wrong."

Ted's face brightened a little. "So my snogging wasn't horrible?"

Andromeda was so surprised that she blurted out the truth without thinking it through. "Of course it wasn't horrible. It was wonderful."

Then realizing what she had said Andromeda's cheeks went as red as Arthur Weasley's hair.

Oh Dash It All!


	9. Some Interesting Findings

Some Interesting Findings

Ted had seen Andromeda flush a little in the past, mostly when he had really, really pissed her off, but he had never seen her face go red before. She just had the sort of will power that the Hulk probably prayed for daily. Andromeda just didn't show her emotions on her face like this.

But he, Ted Tonks, had snogged her so well that she'd gone red as a tomato and told him his kissing was wonderful.

Now their faces were both the color of a tomato and neither knew what the hell to do about it.

Standing there like idiots Andromeda grabbed his textbook and all but buried her face in it, not even reading the words as she hid her face from him. She'd never been so mortified in her seventeen years of life. She wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole so that she'd never have to look another person in the eye again. And how could she, knowing that she'd said such a thing to a MUGGLEBORN!

Like any small animal that was used to being prey Ted was instinctively weary of unnatural silences, especially when he was sharing that silence with a Slytherin. And while he might have been in too much of a daze to accurately recall her threats against his person Ted had been threatened by enough Slytherins to have some idea what those threats might have been.

She had her answer now, after all, Ted thought in dismay. And Andromeda Black was not he type to leave any loose ends behind. She wouldn't want anyone to know she'd let a Muggleborn snog her after all. He was one big nuisance to her after.

Forcing herself to lower the book a little, in case he was gloating, Andromeda wasn't quite sure what to make of his expression. He looked rather scared of her, she puzzled, wondering why he'd gone from grinning like a dumb idiot to all but backing away from her.

"What's wrong with you?" She blurted out, lowering the book all the way so that she could see all of him. Body language was important after all.

"Nothing! Nothing at all." Coughing unconvincingly Ted looked everywhere but at her. "We should…ah…really start my lessons, shouldn't we?" Not that his brain was capable of absorbing anything at the moment.

Andromeda's black eyes narrowed, embarrassment temporarily forgotten. "What's going on in that empty little head of yours?"

Ted's nothing came out as a froggy croak.

Not buying that for a moment Andromeda walked over and with a single finger drew Ted's chin up so that he had to meet her gaze, his cheeks pink and going darker. With her other hand Andromeda reached out and sliding it over his forehead used it to push back and hold his bangs, allowing her an unobstructed view of his eyes. Cobalt blue eyes that were darkening before her own eyes as Ted stared at her in what looked to be acute shock.

"Now let's try that again without the lying." Her voice smooth and silky Andromeda leaned in so that their noses were almost touching. "What. Where. You. Thinking. Just. Now?"

"That you're either going to kill me or erase my memories so I'll forget you ever let me snog you."

A memory charm. Now why hadn't she thought of that?

"Please don't erase my memories." Ted asked with a pitiful, puppy dog look in his eyes. "I really, really won't ever tell anyone, I swear." Just to prove it he crossed his heart, only to realize belatedly that she probably had no idea of the gesture's significance.

"If you don't intend to tell anyone then why would you need to remember it?" She shot back, trying not to be effected by the potency of the look he was giving her. Talk about your hidden weapons, she thought furiously. She should have left his stupid bangs alone.

Frantically trying to think of a reason that wouldn't get him killed Ted decided his best option was to play to her vanity. "Because that was the best kiss ever and I don't ever want to forget it."

Preening a little at the praise Andromeda dropped her hands from his face. "So I am a good snogger."

"Well technically-never mind."

"Technically what?" Crossing her arms in front of her Andromeda's piercing gaze indicated plainly that she'd only ask the once. If he made her ask him again she'd do it with her wand.

"Just that technically…I snogged you. You didn't snog me. But I'm sure that if you had snogged me it would have been the most wonderful experience of my life." And that was the honest truth. Just thinking about what it would be like to be snogged Andromeda had his eyes practically turning into hearts.

Andromeda's face betrayed her confusion as she tried to sort his words out. What did the Muggleborn mean? They'd most definitely snogged, but he was making out like they hadn't. But they had and he'd just said they had and... So…she was so confused.

Sensing her confusion Ted was equally confused. Absently rubbing the back of his neck Ted tried to figure out what had her in a tizzy. Hesitantly, keeping a close eye on her, Ted tried to verbalize what he was thinking without incurring her wrath. "Andromeda…what's confusing you about what I said?"

Normally Andromeda would have brushed it off but she was too confused and curious to do so. She'd thought she'd gotten the answers she needed and now he was making her think up whole new ones! "I don't understand how you can say I didn't snog you when we just did." She finally admitted in annoyance.

"Oh." The light dawning suddenly Ted did his best not to show his thoughts on his face, failing horribly. His shock was plain as he answered her. "Well you see…what I mean is…technically you were snogged by me. You didn't do what I did back to me. If you had…then you would have snogged me."

This was an utterly foreign concept to Andromeda. Was THAT why Nicolai had called her frigid and an ice princess? "No one ever told me I was supposed to do what the guy does!" Andromeda felt like she'd been hit in the head with a cauldron. "I always thought that you were supposed to approach snogging the same way you dealt with what happens in the marriage bed! That I was just supposed to stay still and let the man do whatever he wanted without complaint. That's what Mother said!"

"Ummm." Ted didn't know what else to say. That was the sort of advice women gave their daughters in Victorian times and it was the seventies now. Apparently Mrs. Black had missed the feminist movement completely.

"That's not right?" Andromeda demanded to know, as always horrified at the idea that he could know more about something than she.

Ted's cheeks flushed and he had to fight the urge to squirm under her gaze and interest. "Well I'm probably not the sort of person to be answering that."

"But you're a man." Andromeda countered sternly. "Not much of one, but you're still a member of the gender and you fancy women. So which would you prefer? A woman who allowed you your way or one who…participated in what you were doing."

"The...uhm…latter." He finally admitted in a low voice.

"Hmmm." Thinking this through Andromeda crossed her arms, tapping her fingertips against her arms as she considered it. What he said went against what her mother had told her, but at the same time she couldn't say that her mother or eldest sister had ever seemed happy in their marriages. The men either. She'd been getting the definite feeling lately that Bella hated to even be in Rudolphus's presence. Both couples were never publicly affectionate and Andromeda couldn't remember seeing either couple snog the other with any warmth or without obligation. The Muggleborn had insinuated that snogging her was good, but he'd also insinuated that being snogged by her would have made it even better.

"So women…are supposed to do what the man does?"

"Well only if they want to." Ted assured her, horrible images forming in his head. After all, who knew what Slytherin men liked to do in the bedroom? They were generally a pretty brutal and cruel lot. At least the ones that tended to pick on him. "If you aren't comfortable with it you should say no and blast the bastard with your wand if he doesn't listen."

This too was a foreign concept to her. "So…according to you…I'm allowed to curse him if some man tries to jam his tongue down my throat? I hate that."

"You'd think French kissing would be something a Slytherin would be good at." Ted chuckled without thinking, his cheeks going red again when she gave him a questioning look. "I just meant…well snakes…they use their tongues a lot and…bad joke. I apologize."

Getting the bad joke Andromeda disguised her unwilling chuckle as a cough, forcing a stern look on her face as she wagged a finger in his direction. "You didn't answer my question. And why did you call it French kissing? Did the French invent it?" If they had she hoped the Dark Lord took over the damn country and made the inhabitants pay big time.

"I don't know, about who invented it I mean. You'd think people would have been doing it before France even became a country. Maybe the French are just the best at it? I'll ask Marie, she's in Hufflepuff with me and her mother's French. And if you don't want to be snogged that way then of course you have the right to say no. There are people who are really horrible at it…which you apparently know first hand." And the thought of anyone else snogging her had his hands automatically fisting at his side. Which was stupid, but he never claimed to be a Ravenclaw.

"Are you good at it?"

Ted blinked at her several times, his brainwaves crashing at the implications of her question.

Knowing that look well Andromeda rolled her eyes, accepting the fact that it would be at least a couple minutes more until he was capable of holding up his end of the conversation. And really, who cared if he was good at French kissing? It wasn't like she wanted him to do that to her. She'd gotten the answer to her original snogging question and that was enough experimenting with the Hufflepuff. If she wanted to learn any more she'd do it with her own kind as was right and proper.

Resolute now Andromeda turned her attention back to the man in question. "Since you're obviously not capable of holding a thought longer than a goldfish we'll call this night a wash and meet back here again tomorrow. Alright?"

Registering somewhat what she said Ted accepted his book bag from her and absently slugged it over one shoulder. Mumbling his thanks and good nights Ted turned to head towards the door, thinking it best to get out of there before he did something stupid like volunteer to be her test subject for anything she might want to know about snogging. He knew a dismissal when he heard it.

"Ted."

Blinking in surprise Ted slowly turned around to see Andromeda holding out his Potions textbook to him. She'd called him by his name, was all Ted could think as he mechanically took the book from her. Not Mudblood, not Muggleborn or Tonks. But Ted.

Not realizing what she'd done Andromeda simply raised an eyebrow at the look on his face. It was the strangest combination of elation and shock she'd ever seen.

Feeling a huge smile blooming on his face Ted nodded good bye once more and turned around, completely forgetting that there would be a door there that needed to be opened before he could exit.

Walking into the solid oak door with a loud crack Ted staggered backwards, tripping over his own feet and nearly taking Andromeda down with him as he fell on his butt. Hands coming up automatically to press against the bump already beginning to form on his forehead Ted cursed under his breath as he moaned his pain.

Staring down at him with the oddest mixture of bemusement and tenderness Andromeda shook her head and moved over and around him to crouch down in front of the boy to take a look at what he'd done to himself now.

What am I going to do with you?" Andromeda murmured as she brushed his hands away so that she could take a look. "You need a keeper."

Staring up at her Ted wished she was interested in apply for the job.

Well that and for something for his headache, ASAP.

)

The next morning at breakfast Andromeda made a concentrated effort not to look in the direction of the Hufflepuff table. That she was at all concerned about how the Muggleborn was doing vexed her and made her that much more determined not to look. She'd see him after dinner anyway. Provided of course that his brains weren't too scrambled from the night before, Andromeda silently added with a faint smirk. He really should be more careful though, considering he didn't have the brains left to spare and risk. Unless his current was a direct result of all the accidents he'd had before they'd met. That was entirely possible.

The arrival of the post was a welcome distraction, the Slytherin thinking that she spent far too much of her time thinking about the Hufflepuff.

Andromeda was surprised though when her family owl landed gracefully in front of her. Her parents weren't the type to write her without a reason, and so she braced herself as she retrieved the letter sealed with the Black family crest. Dismissing the bird Andromeda slid the letter into her robe pocket, ignoring her sister's questioning look. She didn't want an audience when she opened it, just in case. She was being far too emotional recently.

Barely touching her breakfast due to her nerves Andromeda got up as soon as possible and headed out of the room, not surprised when Cissy got up and followed her.

The two sisters walking silently side by side they headed for a nearby hallway which was rarely used and off the beaten path. There was a bench there and the two girls made use of it, sitting side by side with Narcissa giving her sister's shoulder a quick squeeze of solidarity.

"Do you think it's about Nicolai?" Narcissa asked anxiously, looking at the letter her sister now held in her hand. She didn't want Andromeda to have to marry Nicolai because she didn't want her sister to unhappy the way Bella was. And she didn't like the Dolohovs either. She'd heard what Anton had said about her sister, and if not for the edict from her father Narcissa would have liked to have had a go at the smug bastard. By permanently chaining him to Annie Miller for a start, she thought vindictively.

That was what she was thinking. Nodding her head Andromeda forced herself to break the seal and pull out the heavy piece of ornate parchment. Definitely from her father; this was a sure indication that the contents were of great importance. He wrote them even less then their mother.

Their heads tilted together so that they could read it at the same time as Andromeda unfolded it. Together their looks of worry were replaced by smiles, the two turning their heads to share a look of pure happiness. While their father and Nicolai's had mended the fences Nicolai was adamant that he had no interested in her now and their own father felt the same way. Andromeda was, it seemed, to be sent east after her graduation and would be expected to stay with an aunt there. She was to look for a new betrothal while there and to spread the word about the Dark Lord to the appropriate people.

And while Andromeda had no interest or intention of doing the last part, Andromeda liked the idea of being exiled to Russia for a summer a lot more than she did the thought of marrying Nicolai.

"Yes." Throwing her hands up in the air Narcissa grinned like a maniac as she got to her feet and pulled her sister to hers, jumping up and down and making Andromeda do the same, her older sister laughing and joining in willing enough.

Of course Blacks didn't bounce, so they stopped after it occurred to them what idiots they must look like.

Hastily fixing their hair and smoothing out their clothes the girls couldn't quite hide their grins just yet.

"This calls for a celebration. We should go to Hogsmeade." Narcissa suggested as she adjusted the chain of her necklace. Normally they didn't go on the trips to the town because they disliked being in such tight quarters with so many students from the other houses, but this was a special occasion. They could go to the Three Broomsticks for some butter beer.

Andromeda considered this, something occurring to her. "Yes, yes let's go this time."

"It's a date then. The first butter beer is on me."

"I was thinking something better than that, Cissy."

Narcissa raised questioning eyebrows as she looked up at her sister in puzzlement. "What could be better than Butter Beer? I'm not allowed to have anything stronger."

"This is better AND anyone can have it." Andromeda informed her as she linked their arms with a smile. "Cissy, I am going to buy you an ice cold Coca Cola."


	10. Wrapped Up In You

Wrapped Up In You

When the girls arrived at Hogsmeade they headed in the direction of The Muggle Mercantile. Neither girl had ever stepped foot in the place before, their elder sister had boycotted it vehemently during her time at Hogwarts. It was generally believed, and Andromeda was fairly sure it was true, that her sister had been partially to blame for the mysterious fire that had nearly consumed the building in Bella's sixth year. As a result of the cost of that fire and the current political climate, the building was currently for sale, the store only open until someone bought it and turned it into something that could make a profit. It was not good for business to be Muggleborn or pro Muggle.

It was also the only place Andromeda could think of where Ted could have gotten the Coca Cola.

"We can't go in there." Clutching her sister's arm Narcissa would have rather faced a rabid manticore than enter the Mercantile. She wasn't entirely sure lightening wouldn't strike her down as soon as she crossed the threshold. But there would be consequences, of that she had no doubt.

"And why can't we?" Andromeda shot back, not about to chicken out now. She could all but taste the Coca Cola and she was not going to settle for some Butter Beer. She was celebrating, darn it.

"Because Bella will kill us."

Okay, her little sister did have a point. Bella would likely hit the roof when she heard about this, Andromeda thought with a barely concealed wince. And she would hear about it, people would talk, no question. A Black coming into this particular store was libel to give some people heart attacks. She could only hope they weren't people she liked, the Slytherin thought with black humor. Huh, Black humor... the irony.

Lips twitching Andromeda mentally cursed a certain Hufflepuff for not only introducing her to the seductive drink she sought but also infecting her with his bad sense of humor. Could he be any more irksome? And how stupid was she to think that, knowing that would just tempt the fates against her. Darn it.

"She will, Dromeda, you know she will." Narcissa hissed urgently, her grip on Andromeda tightening at the thought. "And even if she didn't Father would finish the job. You know he tried to stop the man from opening the store in the first place."

Looking down at her sister Andromeda was willing to brave Bella's wrath for a coke, but wasn't about to ask her sister to do the same. Especially if their father really did get involved. She was older and Cissy was her responsibility, Andromeda reasoned. And she really, really wanted a damn coke. "You stay here then." Andromeda announced, determined now to do what she wanted and to hell with the consequences. "I'll be in and out before you know it." And if her family got their robes in a twist over her entering a store that they didn't like well then...well then she'd come up with a damn good excuse once she had that bottle of amber liquid in her hands.

)

It took Andromeda a good five minutes to talk her sister into letting her go in and by the time she'd managed it the Slytherin princess was pretty sure that she'd have bruises from the force of her sister's surprisingly strong grip. Vehemently hoping that her baby sister didn't have a nervous breakdown while she was gone Andromeda finally stepped into the store, head held high as she looked around with barely concealed curiosity. This was the first time she'd ever stepped into a store that catered to the lowly Muggleborns and she hadn't know what to expect. It was disappointingly normal looking.

Almost immediately upon her entry a man the Slytherin didn't know came charging towards Andromeda with a fierce look in his eyes.

"I know who you are!" The man raged, the small store going quiet as everyone turned to watch the show. "You're HER sister. That hateful, store burning, bitch of a witch. Come to finish what she started, eh? Come to burn the place down with me in it? Not enough that you and your kind destroyed my livelihood, ran me off, now you've got to take my life too?"

"Where is your Coca Cola, please?"

"What?" The man blinked, sure he must have heard her wrong.

"Do you or do you not sell the Muggle product known as Coca Cola here?"

"Well of course we sell it." Was his automatic, baffled response. "It's one of our top sellers. That Hufflepuff boy buys enough of it to make it worth stocking as is." Ted Tonks was one of the man's all time favorite customers.

Andromeda had no problems guessing who that Hufflepuff boy was. At least she knew she was in the right place now. "If you would point me in the direction of it I will get what I want and then leave this establishment. I assure you that I have no intention of burning this building down with or without you in it. Though I must say, if this is any example of how you treat your customers then my sister and my 'kind' cannot be entirely to blame for your store's difficulties."

The man's jaw was practically on the ground as he pointed down one of the aisles dumbly, in too much shock to do anything else.

Nodding her head imperially Andromeda strolled around him and headed down the aisle, ignoring the looks she was getting like the other people weren't even there. Head held high she marched up to a strange, rectangle shaped Muggle contraption, able to see the drinks through the glass panels. Figuring out how to slide the door open Andromeda retrieved two of the ice cold bottles, holding them by their necks as her attentions turned to the stacks of the drinks near the machine. They weren't cold…but for later... Picking up a case of six in her free hand Andromeda was pleased with her purchases and headed for the front of the store to pay.

Along the way Andromeda spotted several items with interesting names, her eyebrows rising as she caught sight of neon colored sticks that were apparently called Pixy Sticks. Pixy Sticks? Seriously? Muggles ate grounded up pixies? At least that was what she assumed since the packaging showed someone eating some sort of powder from the end of the stick. But why? How could the nasty little things possibly taste good?

Not to mention the fact that they couldn't spell pixie properly. That was just sad.

Intrigued despite herself Andromeda shifted her load around so that she could grab two of them and then continued on her way to the check out. She'd confer with the Hufflepuff before trying them, Andromeda decided, having never imagined that Muggle food sources were so scarce that they'd been reduced to eating pests.

The angry Muggleborn who'd yelled at her earlier was there manning the counter, and he rang in her purchases with a scowl on his face. When the owner went to hand her her change Andromeda waved off the offered coins.

"Keep the change. Apparently you need it." Andromeda turned to leave and then paused, looking over her shoulder at him with icicles practically dripping off her words. "And a word to the wise, it would be most ill advised for you to speak of my sister in that manner again. You being a Muggleborn only excuses your stupidity so much."

)

Exiting the store like she opened the place Andromeda spotted her sister right away, Cissy nervously wringing her fingers as she tried to hide from sight. Obviously her sister didn't want anyone seeing her so close to the store, Andromeda thought with a faint smile. Walking over Andromeda motioned for her sister to follow her, the two making their way over to a bench that was a respectable distance from the mercantile. Andromeda wasn't entirely sure her sister wouldn't faint from the stress.

Thankfully they had bottles like these for their drinks as well so Andromeda knew the spell that would get the stubborn caps off, handing the first opened one to her sister before opening hers as well. Tapping their bottles together Andromeda drank first, Narcissa watching wearily before slowly bringing her bottle to her lips.

"It's wonderful!" Narcissa announced in surprise, after taking a deep drink as opposed to her cautious first sip.

"Isn't it just." Andromeda agreed with a cat that got the cream smile on her face.

The two girls had emptied half their bottles when Narcissa saw her would be fiancé coming towards them with a cold look on his face that spelled trouble. Big trouble. And since Lucius's gaze was focused on her older sister Narcissa didn't have to guess as to what was wrong. He'd heard already, Narcissa thought frantically, having not been given enough time to come up with an excuse for her sister's erratic behavior.

Also seeing him coming Andromeda met his gaze squarely, not about to be cowed by a mere boy with delusions of being a man. She liked Lucius over all, but she wasn't about to let him think he could dictate what she did and didn't do. Only her father could do that.

But telling her that was precisely what the boy intended as Lucius came to a stop in front of them, demanding to know what she was thinking, going into the Mudblood store. He was especially pissed off that she'd dragged Narcissa into the fray, the younger girl immediately dropping her bottle to the ground, kicking it under the bench as he continued to verbally abuse them both for their un-Slytherin behavior.

That hadn't taken long, Andromeda thought as she let him get his rant out of his system before coolly rising to her feet, enjoying the fact that he automatically took a step back as she did so. Smart enough to know when he's bitten off more than he can chew, Andromeda thought with arrogant superiority. But he hadn't realized it soon enough to save himself some lashes from her tongue. And hers was far, far more poisonous.

"First of all, Lucius, you have no right to give me orders. I am older and my bloodlines makes yours look as inferior as the Hufflepuff I'm tutoring. Secondly, don't you take that tone with my sister, EVER. You will show her respect or I will teach you respect." And while his face flooded with color Andromeda continued without mercy. "And finally, how dare you suggest for one moment that my going into that store brings disgrace upon me or my family. Do we not wear jewelry made by goblins and eat food made by elves? How stupid are you, that you don't realize that the purpose of lesser beings is to provide their betters with that which we choose not to do or make ourselves?"

Lucius opened and closed his mouth several times, unable to come up with a rebuttal for that, which made him absolutely furious.

Furious too, at her sister for saying such horrible things to Lucius, Narcissa grabbed the boy's hand and linked their fingers in a show of unity. "You can take your stupid Muggle drink and choke on it." Whirling on her heels Narcissa practically dragged Lucius with her, the boy finally gaining his feet as he turned to send Andromeda a 'so there' look before matching his pace to his girl.

Shaking her head Andromeda turned and used her wand to retrieve the discarded bottle, sending it soaring out from under the bench and into the nearest trash can. Retaking her seat Andromeda retrieved her own bottle from where she'd set it down and resumed her sipping, her good mood tainted by the confrontation with Lucius. What the boy thought of her really didn't matter, but she hated the fact that her little sister had turned on her so easily. But then Cissy really did fancy herself in love with the Malfoy boy. People did stupid things when they were in love or so she'd heard.

Andromeda was nearly finished with her drink when she saw a familiar figure rush towards her, a bottle identical to her own in one hand and a shopping bag in the other.

"Hi there." Grinning widely Ted walked over to take a seat beside her, a bold mood that he normally would have never dared to attempt. Just to be safe though, he kept a foot's worth of space between them. "I heard you were over at Mac's store. I've got you hooked on the stuff now, haven't I?"

"Hmmmm." Was all she had to say about it.

Taking that as a yes Ted set his bag down on the ground and retrieved his own wand to open his bottle, chugging down a quarter of the bottle before coming up for some air. "Ahhhhhhhhh. Nothing better."

"You might enjoy it more if you savored it a little." Andromeda pointed out dryly.

"Probably." Grinning at her Ted's gaze was caught by something bright sticking out of her coat pocket. "What's that in your pocket?"

It took Andromeda a moment to realize what he must be referring to. Reaching into her pocket Andromeda drew out the two colorful sticks. "I wanted to ask you why Muggles eat ground up pixies."

"Why we eat…oh...OH!" Laughing Ted shook his sandy blonde head merrily. "That's just the name of it, Silly. Tisn't made of real pixies. What's in there is a powder, mostly sugar, that Muggles think resemble pixie dust."

Taken aback at being called silly Andromeda didn't quite know how to respond to that. No one had ever accused her of that with such…affection before. He wasn't making fun of her or berating her, he was, by Merlin's beard, teasing her.

"What you do is cut off the end and let what's inside slide into your mouth. You've only got the two, right?"

Andromeda nodded. "Why?"

Ted's grin grew, his eyes twinkling behind his shaggy bangs. "Well you don't strike me as the type that eats a lot of sugar. You'd kill me dead after you came off the sugar high if I let you have too much of it. I don't think the world is ready for a hyper Black."

"A hyper Black?" Andromeda repeated, not liking the sound of that at all.

"Yeah. People who have too much sugar and aren't used to it can get really wired on the stuff. There's sugar in the coke too so that plus two Pixy Sticks is all you should have before dinner tonight." Seeing that she wasn't quite getting the idea of a sugar rush Ted opted to give her a visual. "A sugar rush, or being hyper, is like being a kid the night before Father Christmas comes. You can't sit still, you talk too much, and you really annoy people who aren't in the same boat as you."

"Oh." She could see why it would be a bad thing for that to happen to a Black. Just imagining what her elder sister would be like was too terrifying for words. It would not be a pretty sight to see.

Absently reaching up to push a couple stray locks of hair behind her ear Andromeda winced when she tried to return her hand to her lap, her bracelet having caught on her intricately braided updo. Tugging on it she couldn't seem to get it loose.

"Here, I've got it. Don't want to wreck the rest of it." Setting his bottle down Ted scooted closer and then knelt on the bench so that he could see what he was doing. With infinite care he slowly unwound the captured strands from the metal of the bracelet, wincing every time he had to tug.

Staying perfectly still Andromeda knew she was being silly, but her heart didn't seem to care about that as it picked up speed. It was stupid, since it was just the Hufflepuff, but it felt oddly intimate and personal, for him to be touching her this way. And his sorry after every accidentally tug was actually quite endearing.

Finally he was done, Ted breathing a sigh of relief when he'd visually confirmed that he hadn't done any damage to her hairstyle. Women were damn picky about their hair in his experience. Though he would have liked to have seen it down, Ted thought wistfully to himself as he shifted so that he was sitting on the bench normally. She'd be at her most sublime with her hair down and tousled around her unparalleled face. Just picturing it had him sighing again.

Fingering the bracelet that had caused all the fuss in the first place Andromeda stared down at it as she spoke. "Thank you. Does my hair need to be fixed?"

"Nope. It looks as beautiful as always."

Looking over at him Andromeda smiled, just a little. "And I suppose you know some poem that would adequately describe just how beautiful it is?" The man had a poem for everything.

Ted shook his head. "Nope. There aren't any words that could adequately do that."

Dammit, Andromeda thought as she looked away. She was blushing again.


	11. Wasn't A Suggestion

Wasn't A Suggestion

Narcissa didn't talk to Andromeda for a whole week after the incident at Hogsmeade. This depressed Andromeda, but not nearly as much as the cold she could feel creeping up on her. There was nothing in the world Andromeda dreaded more than getting sick, especially since colds always seemed to hit her worse than everyone else. She rarely got sick, but when she did it was not a pretty sight.

As per usual Andromeda did her best to ignore her symptoms, hoping as always that she could convince herself of her wellness to the point where she became well.

But no such luck.

Come Monday night Andromeda had reached her breaking point. Her head and nose were stuffy, her whole body ached, she could hardly find the energy to move, and Andromeda hadn't eaten anything solid in recent memory.

She was holding on by a thread and like an animal who'd been abused one too many times, Andromeda Black was posed and ready to strike at anyone who dared cross her.

Sensing this, everyone had been giving the Slytherin a wide berth. Not even members of her own house approached her now, though part of that could be put down to the rumors circulating about her. She was suddenly becoming pro Muggleborn in their eyes and they were making their displeasure known with cold dismissal. But since no one had the balls to criticize her to her face Andromeda had not been given the opportunity to defend herself. Personally, Andromeda didn't feel she should have to justify herself to anyone outside her family and Cissy wasn't talking to her.

That she had a…almost…sort of…friend in Ted Tonks was her business and no one else's. Though she was hoping her growing…affection for him was a direct result of her cold and would fade with it when it had run its course.

)

Walking down the hallway towards the classroom she was supposed to be meeting Ted in that night, Andromeda cursed under her breath as her vision wavered. Her damn fever. She hadn't taken her temperature, but she was pretty sure it was a lot higher than was good for her. Which meant she should probably be heading for the Medical Wing instead of a tutoring session, Andromeda thought with a sigh. But she hated going there and never did unless her sister dragged her there.

And currently Cissy didn't care enough about her to see she got better.

Cissy apparently didn't care whether she lived or died because of her own gross stupidity.

Shoulders slumping dejectedly as she allowed herself a moment of self pity, Andromeda had to blink several times before she recognized the figure running towards her, just stopping before he ran right through her.

"You are sick!" Ted announced as he slapped his hands on his hips. He'd thought she'd looked unwell the past few days but she'd told him he was just imagining things. But he sure as hell was not imagining the fact that she looked like a weak wind could knock her over, the Hufflepuff thought angrily. "You lied to me!"

Andromeda's eyes narrowed threateningly. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not. And you're going straight to the Medical Wing. Now."

Sticking out her chin Andromeda tried to find the energy to glare at him. "I'm not going."

"It wasn't a suggestion."

Andromeda gaped at him in shock as he took her book bag from her shoulder and dropped it on the floor in a heap. Mouth opening to give him hell for daring to do so Andromeda words died in her throat as he threw his book bag down on top of hers. "What on earth are you…?"

Her words ended in a loud yelp as he suddenly scooped her up into his arms, Andromeda wrapping her arms around his neck in a desperate bid not to be dropped on her rear end. Eyes going as big as dinner plates Andromeda stared at the Hufflepuff like he'd grown three more heads.

"Are you out of your mind? Put me down this instant!" Andromeda screeched, clutching him tightly as he turned and began making his way towards the stairs that would take them to the main floor.

"Quiet!"

Mouth dropping open at his fierce tone Andromeda was shocked into silence.

Andromeda instinctively tightened her arms around Ted's neck as they began walking down the stairs, the Slytherin doing her best to remain as still as possible, least he drop her and send her sprawling down the bloody stairs. He was struggling to carry her as it was. He was not exactly athletic and she wasn't small or delicate in build. Andromeda was willing to bet quite a bit that he'd be gasping for breath before they reached the Medical Wing.

That made her feel a little better.

But he was still carrying her, and he was going to have to pay for that. Breathing a sigh of relief when they reached the bottom of the stairs Andromeda already flushed face went that much redder as she caught sight of The Fat Friar and her own house's ghost.

She'd rather be humiliated in front of the ghosts than someone living, but it still peeved her off royally that anyone was witnessing her embarrassing situation. Oh yeah, Tonks was going to pay big for this, Andromeda thought darkly as she buried her face against the side of the Hufflepuff's neck, so that she didn't have to look at either ghost as they floated over to them.

"Are you injured, Miss Black?" The Bloody Baron inquired, looking her over as she refused to look at either of them. He'd known Andromeda Black since her first day at Hogwarts. The baron knew better than to think she was in the Hufflepuff's arms willingly.

"She's sick." Ted announced before she could answer. "I'm taking her to the Medical Wing. Friar, could you go back up the stairs and down the left hallway? We left our book bags there and I don't want Peeves or Filch to get ahold of them. We'll never get them back from either of them."

"Of course, of course. Happy to help, dear boy." The Friar assured him, thinking to himself that the boy was very brave to be risking the Slytherin's wrath like this. "You get the young lady to Madam Pomfrey, I'll take care of the rest."

"Thanks."

)

Nodding at them since his hands were busy the Hufflepuff worked up a strained smile and then continued on his way. His arms felt like they were being stretched by some torture devise and his back was killing him, Ted thought with a small groan. He could barely get air into his lungs either, and was extremely grateful that Andromeda wasn't chewing him out yet. He didn't have the strength or energy to argue with her.

He barely had enough of either to get them where they needed to go.

Staggering under her weight, all Ted could think of was not dropping her. No matter how much it hurt, no matter how tempted he was to take a break, he had to get her to Madam Pomfrey ASAP. Not to mention the fact that she really would kill him if he dropped her. His lack of upper body strength would not be enough to save him excuse wise.

The right hallway within sight Ted breathed a sigh of relief as he caught sight of the Headmaster.

"Sir! Headmaster! Could you please walk ahead and open one of the Medical Wing's doors for me?"

Turning to look in the boy's direction Dumbledore's left eyebrow rose inquiringly. "I take it one of your spells went rather wrong?" Miss. Black would not be a happy woman when she regained consciousness.

"No, she's sick." Ted didn't take offense; he'd nearly blown them both up once or twice. She just was, thankfully, very good at getting out of the way in time.

"I see." Dumbledore thought about pointing out that the boy could carry the girl using magic instead, but held his tongue. He supposed it was a lot more romantic in the boy's eyes to carry her, not to mention more manly. There was also the fact that young Tonks would be just as likely to drop her using magic as he was using his own man power. And it was very sweet for the boy to carry her, though she would probably not see it that way.

Staggering behind the Headmaster Ted concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, teetering around like a drunk as he struggled to keep them both upright. He even did a couple circles as he spun on his heels in a desperate bid to keep on his feet.

Finally they made it to their final destination, Ted setting her down on the first available bed with a loud sigh of relief. He barely heard Dumbledore leaving to go and find Madam Pomfrey, he was so focused on the wonderful feel of not having all his muscles taxed out.

Bracing his hands on the bed for support Ted struggled to get air into his burning lungs, gasping for air he concentrated on her sleeping face. She had color in her cheeks for once so she didn't quite look like Snow White, but even sick she was still beautiful beyond description in his eyes. She'd either passed out from her fever or from embarrassment, he thought wryly, reaching out to tuck a tendril of hair behind her ear. It was probably best for all of them if she stayed unconscious a while longer.

Rolling his shoulders in an ill advised attempt to work the kinks out, Ted winced at the pain that that caused. He was definitely not doing anything physically taxing for at least a few weeks. In fact, maybe he'd just curl up in the bed beside her until morning. The thought of walking back to his dorm felt far too daunting.

Smiling wearily at Dumbledore and Pomfrey as they reentered the room Ted got out of the way while the head nurse came over to look over the sleeping Slytherin.

Shaking her head as she removed her hand from Andromeda's forehead Madam Pomfrey clucked as she shook her head in disapproval. "She's got quite the fever. I thought she looked a little peaky the last time I saw her. She'll need to stay here; she's the type who needs to be watched over. She's not the sort to take proper care of herself in this sort of situation."

Ted reached out to take one of Andromeda's limp hands in his own, his worry evident. "But she'll be okay, right?"

"She'll be fine after she gets some rest and care." Doing her best to hide her reaction to the boy's gesture Pomfrey turned her attention to her patient. There were things to be done and a couple of them could not be done with men around. "You two need to head along. I need to get her into something to sleep in and rub a potion into her chest to help loosen things up."

Cheeks going red Ted nodded his understanding frantically. But he didn't want to leave Andromeda either, especially now that Madam Pomfrey had confirmed just how sick she really was. "Could I…maybe come back? I mean I have to get our book bags, could I bring hers back here for her?"

Pomfrey wanted to say no, but couldn't say it with the boy giving her his puppy dog look. She caved. "You can bring her her bag and then it's off with you for the night. You…you can visit her tomorrow if you like."

Ted's grin lit up his whole face.

)

Madam Pomfrey had told her that Ted intended to visit her, and Andromeda was more than ready for him the next morning. She was stuck wearing hideous stripped pajamas, had been forced to drink disgusting potions, and had her personal space seriously invaded by the head nurse. Oh yeah, she was more than ready to talk to Ted Tonks.

And she planned to do all the talking.

When the Huflepuff arrived she was ready and raring to strike.

"You're awake!" A wide smile crossing his pleasant features, Ted hurried over to her bedside without a hint of trepidation. "And you look better. Thank God, I barely slept a wink last night, worrying about you."

Blinking, Andromeda felt all her nasty, heated words die in her throat.

He meant it. He really had been that worried about her. She could see it in his face. No one had come to see her, not even her sister. Not only had he cared enough to make her come to the Medical Wing in the first place, but he'd cared enough to risk her wrath by doing it. He wasn't a complete idiot after all, he knew her well enough to know how she'd feel about him ordering her around. But he'd risked it anyway to get her help.

The only one that had cared enough about her to risk it.

Assuming she was too weak and tired to yell at him Ted continued to smile as he took a seat on the side of her bed. "I've got the next two periods free, Madam Pomfrey said she'd get the elves to bring me lunch too when they bring your soup. Do you like soup? We're getting chicken noodle apparently, which is the cure all when it comes to colds. It's also one of the few things my mother can cook without burning the house down, so I get a lot of soup at home. Chicken noodle is my favorite."

The best Andromeda could mange was a shrug, feeling far too emotional to comment. It was her cold, Andromeda thought defensively. It had to be.

"I can help you eat it if you aren't up to it." Ted added, wisely changing the subject when she gave him a dark look. "And I brought something to entertain you with! It's one of my favorite books and I read it all the time. It's a Muggle one, so you wouldn't have heard of it. It's by a man named Roald Dahl, he's a famous British writer. The books called 'Charlie and The Chocolate Factory'. I thought I'd read it to you."

And not waiting for her agreement Ted dug the book out of his book bag and flipping to the first chapter began to read aloud.

Struck speechless Andromeda said not a word as she was introduced to the Bucket family and a man named Willy Wonka. She couldn't remember the last time someone had read to her, especially from a book that was obviously meant for children. She hadn't even been read children's books as a child. Her father felt they were a waste of time and paper. When stories had been told to her as a child they'd been real life stories about her ancestors and their contributions to Wizarding society. She hadn't learned the stories in 'The Tales of Beedle Bard' until she'd been in her third year at Hogwarts. And that had only been because she was sick of not knowing the stories all the other students knew.

She supposed she should be insulted that he thought she'd enjoy a children's book, but the truth was she really was enjoying it. The story was amusing enough, but it was his reading of it that was truly entertaining. The boy was trying rather unsuccessfully to use different voices for each of the characters, and his facial expressions were more than a little over the top. It was taking all of her skills not to laugh or smile.

When his voice started to get hoarse Andromeda retrieved her wand from under her pillow and pointing it at her bedside table conjured up a glass of pumpkin juice for him.

Looking up from the book when she called his name Ted blinked and then followed her pointed wand to see the glass on the table.

"Oh…do you need help drinking that?"

Andromeda rolled her eyes and put her wand away. "You need it." Was all she said.

Catching on Ted marked his place and set the book aside, reaching out to take the glass from the table. "Thank you." He said softly, glad for the cold liquid as it slid down his throat. He was really thirsty now that he thought about it. "Do you like the story so far?" He asked, looking at her over the top of the cup. She'd been surprisingly quiet since he'd arrived. Maybe it was hard for her to talk?

"The other four children are ghastly." Was Andromeda's opinion. "And Charlie Bucket is obviously going to win whatever game Wonka is playing with them. He's up to something, I know it. He reminds me of Dumbledore, and I don't just mean the way he dresses."

Ted laughed, agreeing with her on that last part. "Yeah, there are some similarities. I should loan it to him, he'd probably get a kick out of it."

Not being a real fan of Dumbledore's Andromeda opted to end the discussion before it could really begin. Reaching out to grab the book Andromeda held it out to Ted in a silent demand for him to keep reading to her. She wouldn't ask, but if he wanted her to even consider forgiving him for what he'd done the night before than he would-

Taking the book from her Ted opened it up again and began reading again, angling the book so that it hid his grin.


	12. Slytherins Don't Cry

Slytherins Don't Cry

Sitting up in her hospital bed, Andromeda tucked curls of hair behind her ears, annoyed that her hair kept falling out of place. She could take it down and then redo it, but that would be too much like primping and Pomfrey might notice. And Andromeda most definitely did not want the other woman thinking she remotely cared what she looked like when Ted came to visit. The old woman was already giving her looks that made her want to squirm. Not that she was doing anything suspicious, Andromeda silently reassured herself. It wasn't like she was visibly showing the fact that she'd come to depend on and look forward to the Hufflepuff's daily visits.

He was still the only one who'd come to see her. Her parents and sisters had yet to show any signs that they even knew she was ill. She told herself she didn't care about that, that that wasn't even that unusual, but it still hurt. In the past, she'd at least been able to count on her little sister to show some concern. Apparently, Cissy was still feeling bitter.

Doing her best to put that aside, Andromeda turned her attention to pretending not to be watching the door. She was failing horribly.

Finally the door opened and in he came, just like clockwork. Well the hour varied, but he always came to see her. Andromeda imagined that his visits were causing quite a lot of gossip, but being all but locked in the Medical Wing had some advantages. And actually, at this point, she didn't care what they thought of her.

His visits were all she had to look forward to at the moment.

"Hey there!" Smiling his happy smile Ted hurried over to the chair Madam Pomfrey left out for him. "You're looking better today. How are you feeling?"

"Madam Pomfrey says that she'll allow me to return to my dormitory this evening if my temperature remains good. I've reached the point where I can take care of myself."

"Well that's good." And it was, even though he'd miss being able to spend time with her. He knew that she missed being with her own crowd, he'd heard from Madam Pomfrey that he was the only one to come and visit. He'd tried approaching her little sister about visiting her, but the blonde had turned and given her his back every time he'd dared to come near her. Her boyfriend had made it clear too, that approaching Narcissa Black again would have some seriously painful results for him.

Andromeda nodded her agreement that it was good.

Ted smiled, not sure what else to say or do. They'd finished 'Charlie and The Chocolate Factory' the day before and had spent the night discussing it so that was out. "I guess…we won't be starting the new book I brought." He finally said. "I'd loan it to you, but it belongs to another Muggleborn in my year. You probably aren't an 'Anne of Green Gables' sort of girl anyway."

"What's that story about?"

"An orphan girl with a very big imagination who goes to live with an older couple who are brother and sister and live in a place called Prince Edward Island. I just figured you might like it because Anne's a strong, independent girl like you, but on second thought you might find her personality a little…grating."

"I see. How are your lessons going? You're keeping up without my help?" He had refused to let her exert herself tutoring him.

Ted nodded, grasping the subject eagerly as he launched into a blow by blow of his day and all he'd learned from his various classes. He also caught her up on the latest gossip, though he deliberately left out what they were saying about the two of them. She'd hear it soon enough, he supposed, and she wouldn't want to hear it from him. And since she'd have to face that soon enough Ted figured it was wise to try and brighten up her mood now. "Oh, and I've been keeping your sister up to date on how you're doing, by the way. Or trying to. I'm sure she'll be real glad to see you out and about tonight. She probably just didn't want to get sick, that's why she hasn't come by."

Ted knew how much it bugged Andromeda that Narcissa wasn't coming to see her. Not that she would ever say anything to him, but he was getting pretty good at understanding how her mind worked. Plus, his feelings would be majorly hurt if any member of his family didn't care about his well being. So he'd try to smooth things over between Andromeda and her sister and hope that by thinking her sister cared more Andromeda would find it easier to make piece with Narcissa when they did meet up. That was his plan anyway.

Andromeda stared at him, realizing immediately what he was trying to do. He was trying to make her think that her sister was staying away for a good reason and not because they'd fought before. The Hufflepuff was gravely insulting her by insinuating that she didn't know when he was lying to her. Please, he had more tells than a toddler. He'd been telling the truth about trying to talk to her sister, but he was lying about why Cissy wasn't coming around. It was gross stupidity to lie to a Black. Bad things happened to people who did that.

And knowing that he would lie for her was the last straw.

Slowly, tears began to run down Andromeda's cheeks.

)

Jaw dropping Ted stared at Andromeda in a blind panic. She wasn't making a sound and the Hufflepuff wasn't even sure she knew she was crying. Ted remembered well how she'd reacted to him suggesting she could ever cry, but she was definitely crying this time and she didn't appear to be slowing down. "Andromeda…."

"I'm not crying."

"Okay." Figuring that agreeing with her was in his best interest Ted reached into his robe pocket and withdrew his handkerchief, holding out to her with a hopeful, 'please stop crying' expression. "Uhm…you're….you're sweating and uhm…you can use this to clean up."

Andromeda glared at him through her tears, not bothering to wipe them away as they continued to fall. "I am a lady. Ladies do not sweat. We occasionally perspire delicately, but I'm made of sterner stuff than that. I am NOT sweating and you're rude to ever suggest that I would."

Panicking even more Ted was only grateful that she took the handkerchief from him, using it to mop up her tears now. Since she was still looking at him in between pats Ted felt obligated to come up with another explanation for her condition. "Your cheeks are wet because…because…because there's a hole in the ceiling and the water's leaking onto your cheeks."

Andromeda blinked, than nodded in agreement, latching onto the truly pathetic excuse. If nothing else, it was ludicrous enough to have her tears drying up. "Exactly. But the cool water feels good on my cheeks so I'm not using magic to stop it." She added with a definite edge of sarcasm that went completely over the Hufflepuff's head.

"Makes perfect sense." Ted agreed with a frantic nod of his own. "Absolutely perfect sense."

Once she'd removed all signs of the tears Andromeda stared at Ted over the handkerchief, unable to believe that he had not only come up with such a lame excuse, but that he'd lett her use it with a straight face. He actually looked like he was trying to convince himself that there really was a leak in the ceiling. If she told him that the sky was brown, he'd probably try to believe her, Andromeda realized with a mixture of exasperation and fondness.

That was just how much he seemed to care about her.

She'd done nothing to earn or deserve that, but he cared all the same, Andromeda thought to herself. And she liked him a hell of a lot for that.

Holding out the handkerchief to him, Andromeda smiled somewhat shyly at him, amused at the dazed expression that crossed his face when she did that. He really did go goofy when she forgot herself enough to behave in a somewhat un-Black like manner. She was starting to find that fact incredibly endearing.

In all honestly she was starting to find him endearing, as opposed to simply foolish.

Which should really worry her, she thought, though strangely it didn't. It probably would later, that always seemed to be the case, but Andromeda was willing to admit for the moment that she was actually glad to know the man sitting beside her.

She could learn to like having him around.

)

Andromeda returned to her dormitories that evening feeling all eyes on her. She walked with her head held high, and her back so straight one would think she was doing an impression of a living ruler. But Andromeda didn't care what any of them thought, she was a Black after all. They lived by their own standards and beliefs, the rest of society be damned.

But there was one person in the room whose attention Andromeda wanted, and that person refused to even look her way as she crossed the room. She could see Narcissa off in a nearby corner with Lucius, her sister deliberately not looking in her direction. Lucius met her gaze only for a moment, but it was enough to convey his smug enjoyment that Narcissa was under his thumb. His wintery eyes clearly conveyed that he would be standing between them until he was good and ready to move. He was completely confident in his belief that he was Cissy's number one.

Even worse, Andromeda suddenly had a bad feeling that Lucius was right to think so.

Why was she only realizing the frailty of her family bonds now, Andromeda wondered to herself as she headed for her room. And really, could she even call herself a member of a family? The word family implied bonds after all, a connection that should mean more than the simple sharing of bloodlines. But when push came to shove, was that not all she shared with her closest blood relations?

She liked to believe that her parents loved her, but their love was absolutely conditional and knew it. Bellatrix didn't love her, Andromeda didn't even have to think about that. Her sister appeared to love one person and one person alone. If you could even call Bellatrix's feelings towards the Dark Lord love, she thought wryly. And last, but certainly not least, was Narcissa. Her little sister loved her, no one could convince Andromeda otherwise. But Narcissa was weak, she would go along with the others whether her sister wanted to or not. Her baby sister rarely thought for herself, though ironically when she did, Andromeda was always surprised by her sister's intensity and determination. But those times were rare and far between. Only when Cissy's back was to the wall did the girl show her well hidden spine.

Rubbing her arms absently for warmth, Andromeda let herself into her room, ignoring the looks she was getting from her roommates. They all nodded to her because they had to, but they left the room immediately under the pretext of wanting to get to the Great Hall for dinner early.

Watching them go Andromeda had no doubt that they would shun her if she not for her family and Slytherin behavior. Blacks stuck together and everyone knew that to mess with one was to mess with the whole lot of them. Provided of course that you were still a part of the Black family, Andromeda mentally added. Go outside the family and you would be fair game to anyone.

Not that she needed her family to protect her. That she could do quite well on her own.

So just what did she need her family for?

She didn't need their hollow, conditional love in order to survive, Andromeda contemplated as an uneasy chill went down her spine. She rarely felt anything particularly loving from any member of her family unless she'd done something particularly worthy of praise. And she didn't need them to support her financially because she had inherited an inheritance from her maternal grandparents when she'd turned seventeen. It wasn't much compared to her family's overall wealth, but it was enough to support herself with in relative comfort.

If she thought about it, she was a part of the Black family because she'd been born into it. No other reason. Had she been born into another family and then met the Blacks she would have never become a part of their family unless she'd married into it. She would never have known their sparse affection or regard otherwise.

And just why was that such an important thing to have?

Why was that worth her small time upon the earth?

Struck dumb by where her thoughts were going Andromeda sat down hard on her bed, staring off into space as she considered her new, never before, thought.

Even if she were incredibly lucky, she'd only live perhaps a hundred years more, and that would require a great deal of luck since people in her family tended to have short to medium life spans. And as someone who'd always enjoyed history, Andromeda knew well how small a person's life was in the grand scheme of things. Her life span was like a piece of parchment in the school library, Andromeda thought to herself. She was simply a page in a book, her story quickly over within seconds of life's overall history. In less than two hundred years she'd be nothing but a name in some family records.

And since she knew that to be true, how stupid would she be if she wasted what little life she had catering to the wishes of people who had their own lives to live and therefore had no business dictating hers. Who were they to tell her how to live her life when if they truly cared for her even a little they'd want her to spend what time she had upon this earth as happy as possible.

To hand her life over to people who didn't have her best interests at heart would make her as stupid as a Muggle.

Which begged the question, did her parents have her best interests at heart?

They wanted her to marry someone like Dolohov and to have pureblooded children despite the dangers that posed to future generations. They wanted her to be a part of or at least support the Dark Lord's army and finally, they wanted her to promote the importance of blood purity and the Black family. Her life was supposed to be devoted to those four things and those four things alone.

And just what kind of a life was that?

How was that a noble way to spend one's short existence?

As a Black she was supposed to be better than everyone else. Her life was supposed to be worth that of a hundred Muggleborns at least. And if that was the case, didn't she have an obligation to use that life for something more than breeding and boasting about how wonderful her pureblooded family was?

Surely someone as gifted and brilliant as herself could come up with some nobler purpose in life.

And she would, Andromeda thought fiercely, her eyes alight with new determination as she got to her feet. There was nothing a Black couldn't do after all. Her family had taught her that.

)

In the morning Andromeda got out of bed with a look in her eyes that would have done any Black proud. It was day one of her living her life for herself and Andromeda found herself perilously close to giddy at the thought. She would start small, but she would definitely start.

And she knew exactly what she would do first.

Having deliberately risen at an early hour Andromeda was the first to arrive at the Great Hall for breakfast. Standing outside the doors Andromeda ignored everyone that walked past her, not remotely surprised that the person she was waiting for was making her wait.

He had never struck her as the early riser type.

Finally, when the stragglers were finally arriving as the hour drew late, Andromeda caught sight of Ted Tonks running towards her, robes flying out behind him as he raced against the clock.

"Hi!" Waving at her wildly Ted came to a grinding halt in front of her, panting for breath as he smiled at her like the idiot he so often was. "Good morning!"

"Good morning, Ted."

The Hufflepuff blinked, not quite believing what he'd just heard her say. Not only had she wished him good morning, but she'd called him by his first name. In public. And the Slytherin didn't look upset that she'd done either. Of course there weren't many people around, but still…

Had Madam Pomfrey decided to try out a new potion on the girl?

And now that he thought about their present circumstances Ted became even more confused. "Why aren't you already inside? Were you…waiting for me?" That couldn't be it, could it?

"Yes. I wanted to remind you that now that I'm better I expect you to show up for our tutorial lessons as per usual now that I've recovered. It would not be in your best interests to keep me waiting." She added with a steely look. "Your week of slacking off ends tonight."

"Yes, ma'am." Ted agreed, all but standing at attention under her dark gaze.

"Good." And now Andromeda smiled at her almost friend, just to play with his head some more. "Have a good day then. I'll see you later."

Turning on her heels Andromeda headed into the hall, thinking to herself that maybe, tomorrow, she'd say good morning to him with a lot of people around. But that would probably be too much too soon. She'd work up to that.


	13. Confrontation Time

Confrontation Time

It was two days after Andromeda's epiphany and every day since then she'd made the effort to wish good morning to Ted. People noticed of course, but none of them had the guts to ask her outright about it. Some of them asked Ted about it, but he didn't know what to tell them either. His curiosity got the better of him though, and so he asked her about it when they met up for their scheduled tutoring session.

"You don't like me wishing you good morning?"

"No, of course not. I love that you're doing that. I'd be really, really sad if you stopped!" Ted tripped over his words in his haste to reassure her. "I'm just wondering why you've started to…acknowledge the fact that we're not enemies in public."

"You're a Muggleborn. You aren't an enemy, you're a genetic anomaly."

"Oh. Ouch."

Wincing ever so slightly, Andromeda realized how bad that probably sounded. "What I mean is…you and I aren't enemies and we never were. And I'm saying good morning to you because I…I'm not ashamed of the fact that we're…on friendly terms." Saying she was friends with a Muggleborn was still beyond her at the moment.

Ted couldn't help but beam at her words, his smile fading slightly as something else occurred to him. "Your sister isn't going to like us being on…friendly terms, right? And you two haven't made up yet."

A sad look came into Andromeda's eyes for a moment, though she hid her emotions quickly. "It's probably for the best if it stays that way."

"What do you mean?"

Andromeda looked away as she explained. "I'm not planning on becoming the person my parents want me to be. When they realize that I'm not going to behave as they wish my parents will most likely disinherit me. That means my sister won't be allowed to acknowledge or speak to me again. My parents and Lucius won't allow it. That being the case, it's probably for the best that I start to put distance between us now. It will give her time to get used to it before my parents deliver the final, severing blow."

Opening his mouth to protest that assumption Ted closed it again. As much as he wished for her sake that it wasn't true, Ted had a bad feeling that it was. And that was just plain awful. "You think…you think even your little sister will stop talking to you?"

"That's the way it works in my family." A rueful, somewhat sad look came into Andromeda's eyes as she imagined the future ahead of her. "I imagine my cousin Sirius will join me in exile someday. If he weren't so young I think my aunt and uncle would have gotten rid of him already."

"That's dreadful."

"That is the way of true, pureblood families." Was her simple response. They were all taught the rules and consequences from childhood, it came as no shock to her. She had never expected herself to be one of the people who her aunt would be blasting off the family tree, but she knew it was the mostly likely outcome. She had accepted that and refused to let it deter her.

Meanwhile, just thinking about it depressed the Hufflepuff. And Ted couldn't really understand any of it, having come from such a loving family himself. And as much as he liked the idea of Andromeda being his friend and a part of his life, "If we weren't friends…would things be okay between you and your family?"

Andromeda couldn't help but roll her eyes, having no problem seeing his thought process on the subject. "Not even dark wizards are so bad that we kick people out of the family for saying good morning to a Mud-someone like you. What my parents will have a problem with is the fact that I've decided not to be defined by what my parents expect of me. I don't want to just be a wife and mother. I want to be more than that. And I want to be…free to judge people by my own standards."

"So…being around me…has made you realize that we Muggleborns aren't all bad?"

"No." Crossing her arms in front of her Andromeda looked as coldly Slytherin as ever. "I've decided my time would be better spent if I felt distain and disregard for everyone, regardless of their bloodlines and social stature. If they prove to be better individuals than I had previously thought then I will change my opinions accordingly."

Ted had to wince, realizing that she was essentially saying that she planned to dislike everyone equally now. "Couldn't you just believe the best in everyone until you're given a reason not to?"

"My epiphany was not the result of brain damage, Ted. The world would be a much better place without the majority of its sentient beings. Calling them intelligent would be a stretch as it is. I see no reason to believe the best in beings that have thus far done nothing but make the world a more intolerable place to live than it has to be."

"Black thoughts from a Black woman." Ted muttered, shaking his head at her logic. The worst part was that he knew that if he tried to debate the issue with her he'd lose, terribly. She was like a force of nature, his Andromeda. That, and unfortunately she was a student of history. And the history books were full of proof of how uncivilized sentient beings could be, Ted thought with a sigh. War, enslavement, genocide, brother against brother. Yeah, she wouldn't have a problem arguing her point at all.

"It is my nature." Was Andromeda's curt reply to his dark pun, though the tone of her next question hinted at her own insecurities. "Do you mind terribly that I'm…a pessimistic person, Ted?" He was an optimist after all. Frighteningly so.

"Well I would think you'd be happier if you were more optimistic, but no…I like you just the way you are. Especially when you're saying good morning to me." Ted added with the boyish smile that tended to get to her, though he had yet to realize that.

Andromeda studied him with interest, analyzing his words and the look in his beautiful cobalt eyes. A small smile crossed her lips, her dark eyes softening as they looked into his. "You really do like me just the way I am, don't you?"

His bright blush was her answer.

)

Ted knew he was interfering, he wasn't an idiot. Except at math. He sucked at math. To an astounding degree, actually. He was very glad they didn't require him to study the subject here at Hogwarts. The idea of Andromeda tutoring him in that subject was scarier than any horror movie he'd ever seen. Math and keeping his room clean had always been beyond him for some reason.

But he wasn't an idiot about most things and he knew very well that what he was about to do was probably going to royally annoy Andromeda. And Lucius Malfoy. Of course his very existence annoyed the Slytherin boy so Ted didn't see how a little more annoyance could hurt in the grand scheme of things. Either way, what he was about to do was for Andromeda and that made any later backlash worth while. Hopefully.

So he staked out a spot, waited for his chance, and prepared to ambush Narcissa Black as soon as he managed to catch her alone.

The youngest Black sister was not looking her best as she came out of her classroom, having deliberately let everyone else go first so that she wouldn't feel that she had to walk with anyone. She wanted to be alone and that didn't seem possible lately. Lucius was worried about her and was going out of his way to spend more time with her. That would have been sweet if she didn't get the feeling he was doing so in order to supervise any conversations she might have with Dromeda.

Not that she and her sister were talking.

She should have gone to see her sister when Dromeda was in the hospital. She knew that. She'd been a right prat to stay away and now she was paying for. She had never been good at apologizing and Blacks, as a rule, were never supposed to apologize, period. A Black would sooner walk off a cliff than admit they were wrong about anything. Okay, maybe that was a bit of an extreme, she reluctantly admitted to herself, but she hated the idea just the same.

And if anyone deserved to go over a cliff it was that stupid Mudblood Dumbledore had stuck Andromeda with. She'd never liked the Headmaster before but now she actively loathed him. When the Dark Lord finally got ahold of the badly dressed Know-it-all Narcissa could only hope she was there to help facilitate the Headmaster's bad end. It was all his fault, Narcissa told herself, having to believe that. It was all Dumbledore and the Mudblood's fault that she and Andromeda weren't talking.

It wasn't her fault. None of this was her fault.

And why should she have to fix it if it was their fault?

But if she didn't fix it…would she lose Dromeda too?

Lost in those scary, disturbing thoughts, Narcissa was far from pleased to suddenly find a Muggleborn standing in front of her. Especially this one. The enemy, Narcissa thought fiercely, her blood beginning to boil as she was presented with one of the men responsible for her present situation. Her sister had been just fine before she'd been assigned to tutor the Mudblood. There was something seriously wrong with her big sister now and Narcissa was more than ready to lay as much of the blame as she could on the shaggy haired blonde before her. "Out of my way, Mudblood." She hissed, refusing to walk around him on the principle of the point.

"Do you love Andromeda?"

Narcissa's eyes flashed dangerously, her outrage written all over her young face. "How dare you call my sister by her first name, you filthy creature." The pale girl withdrew her wand from her robe pocket and pointed it in Ted's direction threateningly. "You aren't fit to breathe the same air as us, Mudblood."

"If I agree that Andr-that your sister is a goddess in comparison to myself will you put the wand down? Because she is, you'll get no argument from me there." Ted's voice rang with sincerity and the knowledge that he knew she was serious about the threatening thing.

Eyes still narrowed and dangerous Narcissa kept her wand raised and ready. "What do you want with me?"

"I think you do love her. I think that in your own, twisted Black way you love her very much. She says that if she doesn't marry a Pureblood and join Lord Voldemort's army you won't love or speak to her anymore. But I don't think it's so easy to stop loving someone. Especially someone who you share blood with. That's why…that's why I think you should tell her that even if you can't be around her anymore that you'll still love her in your heart. You can do that, can't you? Your boyfriend and parents would never have to know how you really felt. I think that would mean a lot to her, if you did that."

Flinching at his words Narcissa stared at him. That Andromeda was no fan of the Dark Lord was obvious. Her family didn't like it and they were all putting pressure on her sister to conform to the dark wizard's ideals. Andromeda was strong though, even more strong willed than Bella. Their paternal grandfather had once said that Dromeda was like a mountain. No matter what forces beat up against her, she would not bend to their will. She could be shaped here and there, but her core remained solid and untouchable to others.

When the silence had dragged on for several minutes Ted gave her a searching look. "Does your silence mean you'll think about it?"

"Bella will kill her."

Ted stared at her dumbly, sure he must have heard wrong. "Excuse me?"

Narcissa's eyes bored into his like knives as she lashed out at him in her fear and helplessness. "If Andromeda does anything that will diminish our family in the Dark Lord's eyes Bella will kill her. The Dark Lord's opinion is all that matters to our oldest sister now. She'd kill Andromeda as easily as she would a spider underfoot."

The Hufflepuff took a step back, visibly shaken. "But…but they're sisters. You're all each other's sisters."

She sneered at his childish ignorance, even as she fought back the tears she refused to shed in front of the Mudblood. "Do you really think our line has stayed so pure and perfect because we're all just naturally born that way? Like any tree…ours is pruned whenever diseased limbs sprout out. That's exactly how it would seem to Bella, you know. How it would seem to our parents."

"That's horrible!"

"That's life. And if you want to continue to have one I suggest you stay away from my sister and let my family be." The whole hallway seemed to freeze over with her next words, her desperate attempt to free her sister from the boy's influence. "You're already on Bella's hit list simply by being a Muggleborn. You'd be wise not to put yourself on the top of her list by calling her attention to your existence."

)

Depressed beyond belief after his talk with Andromeda's sister, Ted thought it wise to seek out someone who knew more about these sorts of things than he did. His luck took a change for the better when he found that someone in the library. There was no one else around, which was an added bonus. Taking a seat beside her Ted waited until she looked up from the book before speaking. "Got a couple minutes?"

Molly looked him over and winced at what she saw. The Hufflepuff was not looking so good and she was fairly certain she knew where to lay the blame. "What's wrong?"

"I was talking to Narcissa Black about Andromeda and…and would Bellatrix Black…Lestrang really kill one of her sisters if they refused to behave like…good little Blacks is the nicest way I can think to put it, but it sounds really wrong."

"A real oxymoron, you mean." Molly's lips twisted into a wry grin, amused despite herself. "Blacks aren't good by definition. And yes…she really would. Bellatrix is a sociopath, Ted. And that's a nice word for her. Sociopaths aren't known for their emotional depths or attachments to people."

"Which is why they're called sociopaths."

Molly nodded, than got serious since it was a serious thing they were talking about. "Look, Ted, if you're worried that you'll get her killed by being…her friend, than I won't lie to you and say that's not a possibility. But I will say that the youngest Black is either being a typically overdramatic teenager or she just wanted to scare you away from her sister and saw attacking your conscience as the best way to do that."

Ted's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I think the girl's exaggerating. The Blacks might be dark, but they don't randomly kill each other every time a member steps out of line. They have relatives still living who were just thrown out of the family you know. Bellatrix might want to kill her, but she wouldn't risk the wrath of her parents and the Ministry by doing so. And even if she was willing to risk them, I can't see her risking her lord's displeasure. It would be too much of a risk, drawing that sort of attention to them now. And Andromeda is as pureblooded as they come, that's not who they want dead at the moment."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ted tried to take some comfort from that. But it was hard.

Seeing that, Molly continued her argument for his sake. "And that aside, Ted, Bellatrix is crazy, not stupid. It would be supremely stupid for her to try and take Andromeda on in a battle to the death. If I were betting, my money would be on your girl, not the rabid bitch."

Ted cheeks flushed with pleasure at having Andromeda called his girl. Not that she was of course, but this was the first time anyone had insinuated that she could be and not been really sarcastic about it. Then he thought about the rest of her words. "You think Andromeda would win?"

Molly nodded with another small smile. "I know you see Andromeda as a lady of the manor type, but she was trained just like her sister. She's deadly. And unlike her sister Andromeda Black isn't the type to play with her prey. That means she's the deadlier of the two."

Ted had a feeling his innocence was showing as he asked his next question. "What do you mean, play with her prey?"

"I mean that Bellatrix likes to hurt people." Molly's gaze was grave. "You don't want to know what my brothers told me about her. What I mean is that the longer a battle goes on, the higher the chance is that something goes wrong. Andromeda, she'd take her victim out as quickly and as cleanly as possible. And they'd never find the body. Or bodies as the case might be."

"Oh." Ted didn't know what to say to that.

"Yeah, oh." Reaching out Molly patted the boy on his shoulder, trying to insert some humor into the situation. "So if Hell freezes over and she ever gives you the time of day, don't cheat on her. You would not live to see the next day."


	14. Andromeda's Knight

Andromeda's Knight

Andromeda figured out that Ted had talked to her sister, but decided not to push the issue or make a big deal out of it. Cissy hadn't come to talk to her about whatever the two had said to each other, but Ted had stopped questioning her about her sister and Cissy had started to look at her with the strangest look in her eye. Like she had some sort of terminal disease and her sister was just waiting for her to keel over and die.

Which was ironic really, since in a lot of ways Andromeda felt like she was just now starting to live.

And her life would go on, even without her family in it, the Slytherin thought to herself as she wandered through the school library. She would be just fine by herself because Blacks were strong enough to take anything. They didn't need anyone but themselves to rely on. And she had one person in her life who genuinely liked her and didn't want to change a thing about her, Andromeda reminded herself sternly. And Ted Tonks might be a Hufflepuff, Muggleborn AND an occasional pain in her side, but he was still someone.

An important someone.

And she was getting used to that fact.

Finally locating the textbook she'd been looking for Andromeda added it to the floating pile beside her, eyes scanning down the spines to make sure that all the books on her list had now been acquired. None of them had been required reading during her years at Hogwarts, but she wasn't about to risk her graduating marks by assuming that her teachers had properly prepared her for her NEWTS. How some of the teachers still had jobs within the school walls was beyond even her comprehension.

Leaving the aisle Andromeda was heading towards the check out counter when she happened to catch sight of Ted, who was sitting at a small table by himself, writing something down with the silliest grin on his face. Intrigued, especially since doing homework never made him so happy, Andromeda changed course and with her wand directed the books to land on the desk as she moved to stand at his side, looking over his shoulder with interest.

"What are you doing?"

"I think I've finally decided on a name for my Muggle." Ted announced as he gazed down at the name he'd circled on his piece of parchment. "It's been bugging me, drawing him but not giving him a proper first name. Everyone should have a name after all. But none of the ones I came up with till now suited him."

Andromeda looked at the circled name. "Martin Miggs?" That was the perfect name for some imaginary Muggle? It was a horrible name, she mused, but then perhaps it was standard procedure for Muggles to give their offspring horrible names to go with their genetics.

"Yup. You see I plan to call my comic 'The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle'. I knew I wanted to call him a Mad Muggle and by giving him a name that starts with Ms too I'm making the title memorable and easy to remember. Plus I was always going to give him the last name Miggs since I based his character design on this kid I know back home who's last name is Miggs. Do you like it?" He asked, smiling up at her hopefully.

"I'm sure it will suit the character."

"I know." Grinning foolishly Ted would have done a victory dance if she hadn't been there to see him do it. But still, it was nice to have her there to congratulate him. "Would you like to see some of my comics?"

"Do bad things happen to this Martin Miggs?" Andromeda asked, crossing her arms in front of her as she considered adding some of his comics to her workload. And it would most definitely be work if she had to read his work and pretend it wasn't boring and uninteresting. And how interesting could it be, starring a Muggle.

In the back of his mind Ted wondered if Andromeda wanted bad things to happen to Martin, but was smart enough to know that he probably didn't want to know the answer to that question. "Well he gets into some scraps, Martin does. That's part of having an adventure after all." Looking at her Ted worked up a grin. "The comics for witches and wizards you know. The idea is to entertain while at the same time teaching them a little about Muggles."

"That they're often mad? We're already well aware of that, Ted."

Ted's lips twitched. "There will be perfectly sane and rational Muggles in the comic as well, Andromeda."

"Well comics are supposed to be very fictitious." Was her droll response, her curiosity about the comics piqued in spite of herself. "And if you wish for some constructive criticism I'll look over your comics for you." A thought occurring to her Andromeda gave the Hufflepuff a considering look. "Are you planning to actually get your comics published? You said that you intended for them to be read by wizards and witches. Is this your planned occupation?"

"Yup." Ted grinned, nodding his head. "I mean really, what else could you see me doing in the Wizarding World? And drawing and telling stories are what I'm good at. What I love to do. Plus, I'll be making people happy and entertaining them. That sounds like a pretty good way to make a living to me."

"I see." Impressed, since she rarely heard him talk so passionately about something, Andromeda was pleasantly surprised to learn that he was looking that far ahead. She'd never realized he had any goals that didn't involve being liked and having fun. Her male social peers never talked about careers or working for a living, they all lived off the work of others or the fortunes their ancestors had previously amassed. It was rather appealing, Ted's intention to make something of himself in the Wizarding World, especially when he could simply use his magic abilities for monetary gain in the Muggle World if he was careful.

"Well don't you two make a lovely couple."

Ted and Andromeda both looked over, neither pleased to see Annie Miller watching them with a smirk just teasing the corner of the girl's mouth.

"You know, Miller, I rather preferred you when you looked like a muskrat. Your face was more pleasing to look at." Andromeda drawled out coolly, enjoying the color that flooded the other girl's cheeks.

"Your sister is going to pay for that." Annie hotly threatened. Just as soon as she figured out how to get her revenge without Lucius Malfoy knowing she'd been the one to do it. Her family did business with the Malfoys after all.

Andromeda's lips curved into a pureblood sneer. "You and what army? Not even the Death Eaters would have you."

The vibrant color of Annie's cheeks paled to white at the mention of the Death Eaters. Everyone knew Andromeda and Narcissa's sister Bellatrix was one of the Dark Lord's top lieutenants. And everyone knew how dangerous and violent Bellatrix Lestrange could be. Was Andromeda threatening to sic their older sister on her if she tried to take her revenge against the other two Black sisters?

Normally he would have felt bad for the other girl, but Annie Miller had brought this all on herself, Ted thought as he watched the two girls silently exchange a dozen insults with their eyes and facial expressions. That Andromeda would win was a forgone conclusion too. Someone like Annie would never stand a chance against his girl. Against Andromeda, Ted silently corrected. Andromeda was not, unfortunately, his girl.

Feeling herself weakening pathetically under Andromeda's superior air and words Annie forced herself to speak as she tried to hide the fear that compelled her to flee. "The Death Eaters won't want you in their ranks either, once they find out you've been keeping company with Mudbloods, Black."

Andromeda's words dripped superiority. "Unlike you and your 'friends', Miller, I don't require an army to put Muggles and Muggleborns in their place."

Hissing her anger Annie whirled around on her heels, calling out over her shoulder that Andromeda would be sorry she'd said that later.

"Now there's an overused exit line." Ted comment with a shake of his shaggy head.

)

In her afternoon classes Andromeda felt eyes following her wherever she went. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Annie Miller had started some new rumors about her and Andromeda simply pretended not to be aware of all the speculative looks she was getting. What they thought of her didn't matter and a reaction would only encourage them to descend upon her like ravenous wolves on a wounded deer.

It did occur to her that Ted wouldn't have the sense to follow her example, and so she wasn't all that surprised to be informed by Molly Prewett that he was once again in the Medical Wing.

Stiffly thanking the Gryffindor for the update Andromeda did her best to keep her face blank and contained until the end of the class, when she took off for the Medical Wing as fast as she could without her worry being obvious. Molly had said Ted would be fine but Andromeda was becoming increasingly concerned about the regularity of Ted's visits to the Medical Wing. Everyone else might have become so used to his various injuries that they were far too cavalier about Ted's physical wellbeing.

Arriving at the Medical Wing Andromeda was promptly informed by Madam Pomfrey that Ted had already been discharged and sent back to class. Relieved to hear that while working hard not to show it Andromeda was about to excuse herself when the door opened and in came two male Hufflepuffs with their arms wrapped around the waist of a third Hufflepuff boy that Andromeda was fairly sure was Ted.

"Oh for the love of Coca Cola." With a loud huff of indignation Andromeda marched towards the three boys, all of them cowering under the force of her stare. "You're back again? How do you ever expect to pass your sixth year if you insist on spending so much time in this room?"

"He'd be okay if he'd just stop fighting with Slytherins." One of the boy's muttered under his breath.

"Slytherins? You were picking fights with members of my house again? What, do they have to kill you before you realize the gross stupidity of fighting with them, Ted Tonks? Have you no common sense at all? Because really, you behaving this stupidly is really not helping you to convince me that my family hasn't been wrong in thinking that you Muggleborns are as dumb as trolls."

Meeting her gaze with the one eye that wasn't swollen shut Ted's voice was soft but firm. "I'd rather take the beating than be the kind of guy who would let them talk badly about you."

Andromeda stared at him, her gaze softening ever so slightly. "And when are you going to get it through your thick skull that I could care less what they think? They can say what they like, it reflects on them, not me."

"That will be enough, Miss. Black. If you have to yell at your knight in shining armor then you can do it after I've patched him up. Again." Madam Pomfrey announced, thinking it was best for all that the two to be silenced. "Boys, if you could help him over to the nearest bed please."

Once Ted was safely deposited on the bed the two Hufflepuffs were sent back on the class while Andromeda stayed behind to supervise Madam Pomfrey's work. She spoke not a word and didn't open her mouth again until the healer had pronounced Ted once again fit to leave her sight.

The older woman's voice indicated she wouldn't be at all surprised to see him later in the day.

Thanking Madam Pomfrey for her help Ted did his best to ignore the various aches his body was still feeling and the disgusting aftertaste of the potions she'd made him take for his injuries. He didn't like the idea of coming back to the Medical Wing but he had a feeling it was a distinct possibility. He'd been lucky both times in that a teacher or other students had stepped in to help him when he'd faced off against his opponents. Would third time be the charm or his final strike, Ted wondered as he turned his head to meet Andromeda's piercing gaze.

"Sorry I worried you?" He offered weakly, wondering if a fight with her counted as his third strike. She did look like she'd like to give him a couple shocks with her wand too.

"Stand up."

Doing as she asked Ted's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when she pulled out her wand and pointed it at his chest.

Ignoring Madam Pomfrey, who'd seen the wand being drawn and had hurried over to intervene, Andromeda pointed her wand at every article of clothing the Hufflepuff wore in turn, using the same spell over and over again as she infused the school uniform with spells that would cause the clothing to repel jinxes and curses, sending them back at their sender. It wouldn't save him if they aimed for his head, but it was something she could do.

Crossing her arms as she watched the girl work her spells Madam Pomfrey could see her wing filling up with students before the week was over. The girl cared, the healer marveled as she observed the middle Black sister. Andromeda Black genuinely cared about the safety and well being of the Muggleborn. Ted Tonks would certainly be spending a lot of time in her care because of it, but so would everyone who harmed him. Andromeda would see to it.

And so the Hippogriff came to care for the dove, Pomfrey thought with a small smile. Who would have thought it?

)

Once she was done with her spell casting Andromeda indicated that they would both leave, walking out together in tandem. Ted thought about pointing out that it wouldn't help end the rumors if they were seen hanging out with each other, but knew better than to think she hadn't thought of that already. She honestly didn't care. So he opted to just enjoy her company as they made their way through the hallways, which were deserted as most everyone was either in class or one of the study areas.

"Aren't you missing class, Andromeda?"Ted asked, belated realizing that he wasn't the only one who wasn't in their scheduled class.

Mouth opening to deny that fact Andromeda's eyes widened as she realized that she was, in fact, missing her last class of the day. She hadn't even realized it. Her only thought had been to get to Ted and make sure that he was really all right.

Lips twitching as he realized what had happened, it took all of Ted's strength not to grin like an idiot. "Thank you for skipping to check on me."

"Don't mention it. And I mean that." There wasn't any point in trying to get to her class now, she'd simply write an apology letter to her teacher and see that he got it that evening. That she'd never, ever missed a class without being stuck in the Medical Wing irked her more than she could say.

"Well I have to get to my D.A.D.A class. I can't afford to miss one of those classes."

"Then we better get you there as soon as possible." It wasn't like she was going to be around to tutor him for his seventh year after all.

Together they headed for his assigned classroom, arriving their in record time do to her long strides and unwillingness to let him dawdle. Arriving at the classroom Andromeda turned and smiled faintly at the Hufflepuff. "Don't forget to apologize to your professor for not showing up on time."

"I will. Promise."

"Good." Reaching out Andromeda gently touched her fingertips to his bruised cheek. "Try not to add to your injuries, please."

Without thinking his action through Ted set his hand over his, sandwiching her hand between his and his cheek. "I'll do my very best."

Cheeks flushing just a little Andromeda didn't know quite what to do. "You need a haircut." She finally blurted out, unnerved at the feel of her hand against his skin. It made her stomach feel weird and her scrambling brain couldn't decide whether she wanted to keep her hand where it was or jerk it from his grasp.

With his free hand Ted pushed his bangs away from his eyes ruefully. "Bad things happen when I try and cut my own hair. I'll have to ask Molly or Hestia to cut it for me."

Not liking the idea of either woman touching Ted's hair Andromeda's voice took on a note of command. "I'll cut it for you tonight, during out tutoring session. I can quiz you while I cut it."

"Really? You'd cut my hair for me?"

Andromeda nodded, carefully sliding her hand out from under his. "Yes. Now you need to get to class. Pay attention."

"I will."

She was less than reassured, but knew there was nothing she could do to make him pay much attention to the class. She'd just have to pick up the teacher's slack and make sure that the Hufflepuff was as prepared for fighting against the dark arts as he could be.

Because without her, Ted Tonks was a sitting duck.


	15. Promises and Puppy Eyes

Promises and Puppy Eyes

Returning to her dorm room before dinner to drop off her book bag and its contents, Andromeda was just giving her hair and clothing a once over in the mirror when there was a knock at her door. Turning her head at the sound Andromeda walked over and opened the door, surprised to find her sister on the other side.

"Are you alone?"

Andromeda moved to the side, motioning for her sister to come in as her reply. Shutting the door firmly behind them Andromeda stood in front of it so that no one could come in without them having prior warning. "What do you need, Cissy?" Andromeda asked as she studied her sister, trying to read past the girl's obvious nerves.

"That Mudblood talked to me about you. The one you're tutoring. And he's been getting into fights all day because of you."

She'd been aware of the second and had suspected the first. The real question was why her younger sister thought she needed to be told. "Get to the point, sister. We'll be late for dinner if you don't and Lucius will notice. He doesn't know you're talking to me, does he?"

That would be a big no, Narcissa thought with a wince, working hard not to wring her hands. Lucius hated that habit of hers. "People are starting to think that you and the Mudblood are a couple. The rumors will reach Father in no time. You have to stop seeing him, Dromeda. He's…he's no good for you. He's not just a regular Mudblood, he's stupider than most. He's so in love with you that he honestly doesn't care that Bella will kill him because of you."

Blinking in surprise Andromeda stared at her sister, trying to decide what to think of Narcissa's thought provoking comments. The one that interested her the most was her sister's belief that the Hufflepuff loved her. Ted did act strange around her, but could the man really be stupid enough to have fallen in love with her? Not that she wasn't worth falling for, she was as close to perfection as a human being could get after all. But it really would be suicide for him to fall for her, Andromeda thought with a frown. Not to mention incredibly ill fated even IF Bella didn't kill him. Her and someone like Ted? It would never work.

Reaching out Narcissa slipped a hand into her sister's tugging on it insistently. "Will you stay away from him, Dromeda. Please? For me."

Looking down at their joined hands Andromeda squeezed the smaller hand. "Even if I stayed away from him I'm still going to diverge from the life Father wishes me to live, Cissy. I'm going to be disowned, I'm sorry."

Tears welled up in Narcissa's eyes. "But why? You don't have to marry Dolohov now, Dromeda. And you didn't have any problems with Father's plans before you started tutoring that Mudblood." She added fiercely, her blooming hatred for the Hufflepuff apparent in her voice.

"I'm not like you, Cissy. I'm not meant to be just a wife and mother. I know that what you want most in this world is to be Mrs. Lucius Malfoy, and while I might not think him worthy of you, I wish that for you because it's what YOU want. If Father turned around tomorrow and wanted you to marry someone else, you'd fight him on that. You'd fight that because Lucius is what you truly want more than anything. And as much as you want Lucius, I want to live a life of my own choosing. If I do as Father wants I will live a life of regret, Cissy. You wouldn't want that for me, would you?"

Narcissa looked away as she tugged her hand out of Andromeda's grasp, wrapping her arms protectively around herself. She wanted her sister to be happy. She loved Andromeda more than any other member of their family. She didn't want Andromeda to have a marriage like Bella's, one that made her so obviously unhappy and dissatisfied. But she didn't want a life without Andromeda in it either. She wanted Andromeda to always be with her. The idea of being forced by everyone else to pretend the other woman didn't exist was too painful to imagine.

Moving in Andromeda wrapped her arms around her little sister, who stiffened at the embrace before latching onto her like a drowning victim onto a life preserver.

"You'll always be my sister." Andromeda told Narcissa softly, leaning her head against her sister's. "They can take my name and inheritance, but they can't change the blood that runs through both our veins. No one can break that bond."

"And you'll always be mine." Narcissa promised as tears slid down her pale cheeks. "And you'll remind me if I forget, okay?"

"It's a deal."

)

Ted did not have to return to the Medical Wing that day, though a couple others weren't so lucky after their curses rebounded on them. In a happy mood Ted let himself into the assigned room, not surprised to see that Andromeda was already there as she'd left the Great hall unusually early. There was a blanket spread out with a high chair in its middle, another folded up and sitting on one of the tabletops. Andromeda was sitting on another normal chair, reading a book as she waited for him to show up.

"Hey ya." Ted grinned, waving at her happily.

Andromeda didn't look up as she continued to read the book in her hand. "You got into another fight before dinner."

Not surprised that she already knew Ted just shrugged the attack off as he set his schoolbag down. "It was nothing, I didn't feel a thing." And he hadn't, thanks to her fixing his clothes for him.

"You didn't feel a thing because the curses bounced off of you and back onto them." Andromeda resorted, mentally noting her place before closing the book with a loud thud. "Doesn't it even bother you that you're under attack?"

"As Rhett would say, 'Frankly, My Dear, I don't give a damn'." Ted responded in his best imitation of Rhett Butler's accent. And then realizing what he'd just done Ted's face went red with embarrassment. "I beg your pardon. I shouldn't have sworn in front of you." Not that damn was that bad, but someone like Andromeda would probably think it was.

Though she didn't approve of cursing Andromeda figured that in the grand scheme of things damn wasn't so bad. Besides, he had apologized right away. "And just who is Rhett and why didn't he care about whatever?"

"Rhett Butler is a fictional character from the novel and film, 'Gone With The Wind'. And he didn't care about the fact that the woman he loved was begging him not to leave her since he'd spent their decades long relationship trying to win her heart and losing out to another guy who was so not worthy of even being called a man."

"I see. And why wasn't the other man worthy of being called a man?"

"Well for one thing his name was Ashley. What kind of man has a name like that and doesn't at least shorten it to something like Ash? And Ashley was a weak willed, couldn't make a decision if he tried pansy. He and Scarlett deserved each other. She was this really strong willed and selfish Southern belle who thought the world should revolve around her. I original let my mom talk me into seeing it with her because she said that the main character sounded a lot like you but she so wasn't. You'd have never fallen for someone so pathetic, or married your sister's beau, or cared more about a house than your family. She was all Tara this and Tara that. Terrible movie. Rhett deserved better."

Andromeda considered that last part with interest. "You went to see a film, whatever that is, because you were told a character in it was like me?"

"A film is like a play and a picture combined. It's hard to explain unless you see it for yourself. Well that and I don't really know the science behind it. And I didn't go see the movie just because of you." Which was a bold faced lie, Ted thought as bent down to give her his back, fiddling with his bag. "So which of my subjects are we looking at tonight?" He asked, hoping it would be something easy. He'd had a long, trying day already.

"We'll do some review first while I cut your hair." She announced as she motioned towards the hair cutting station she'd set up. "You can't see your books to study now at the moment anyway."

Taking the hint Ted too a seat on the chair, letting her put the blanket around his shoulders so that his hair wouldn't get all over his clothes. Getting as comfortable as he could Ted barely moved a single muscle as Andromeda moved a comb through his hair, carefully working out the tangles as she quizzed him.

Once it was all combed out Andromeda retrieved the hair cutting scissors from the table where she'd set them. She used them to trim her and Cissy's hair, and this was the first time she'd ever cut a boy's hair. But there couldn't be that much difference and she could always grow his hair back if she made a mistake. Not that she made mistakes of course, she thought smugly.

Working away Andromeda concentrated on removing the split ends first, her fingers moving through the strands as she evaluated its condition. "What do you use in your hair? It's obviously not doing its job."

"You mean because I don't use conditioner right? I hate that stuff. You have to use a whole handful of it just to get your whole head covered." Though if she asked him to, he'd probably start using the crap again, just for her, Ted thought ruefully.

Andromeda didn't know what conditioner was, but assumed it was some sort of inferior Muggle hair product. "I'll make you something to put in your hair when you shower. You'll use it every day or else. I won't go to the trouble if you don't."

"I will use it religiously, I promise." Ted swore, putting a hand over his heart for emphasis. If she made it, just for him, he would definitely use it.

"Good." Continuing with the trimming Andromeda layered the hair since it was so thick, putting aside the scissors so that she could work her hands through the hair to dislodge any stray hairs. Or at least that was her excuse and she was standing by it. He really did have nice, thick hair, she thought as she played with it. It felt good to run her fingers through it.

"I'm in heaven." Ted muttered, too lost in the feel of her hands in his hair to think about what he was saying. Andromeda Black was running her beautiful, talented fingers through his hair, essentially petting him. He wished he knew what he'd done to deserve this so that he could do it every day.

Hearing him Andromeda moved to stand in front of him, reaching out to brush his now styled bangs completely out of his face. "You're in heaven when I touch you?"

His face going as red as a Weasley's hair Ted blinked at her like a deer in headlights, mind going completely blank as he tried to come up with an excuse for what he'd just said. Nothing was coming.

"I'll take that as a yes." Curiosity had her reaching out, stroking her fingers along the lines and curves of his face, watching his reaction as his blue eyes darkened to an even more beautiful cobalt, the man's lashes lowering to half mast as he leaned into her fingers like a cat would. He really liked being touched by her, Andromeda thought as a hint of color tinged her own cheeks, surprised that she liked touching him too. It made her feel good that he liked her touch so much. Like she was special to him. And she was, Andromeda realized, thinking about Narcissa's comments about the Hufflepuff's feelings for her. She had never really taken the time to study how deep his feelings were for her, having previously dismissed his behavior around her as demonstrations of his weirdness.

Hmmm. Interesting.

It was killing him not to squirm in his seat but Ted was afraid she'd stop touching him if he reminded her of what she was doing. Besides, this definitely made the top ten ways he'd like to die, the Hufflepuff thought with a small smile.

And when she started to remove her hands Ted couldn't stop himself from reaching up, holding her hands against his skin for a moment longer before reluctantly letting them go with a rueful look. "Sorry."

"It's rather dangerous to manhandle a Black when her wand and a pair of scissors are within her arm's reach." Andromeda pointed out dryly, though his touch didn't annoy her. In fact, she was rather pleased that he liked her touch enough to risk her wrath by trying to prologue the touching.

"Well…if you have to curse me, can I at least have a kiss all better afterwards?" Ted asked with a grin, hoping to get a laugh out of her as he wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

Andromeda raised an eyebrow. "You're that desperate to be kissed by someone?"

"You're not just someone."

Watching him blush over his own words Andromeda moved closer, not realizing what she was going to do until she was leaning in to carefully press her lips against his in the briefest of kisses. Surprised at her own actions Andromeda jerked her head back, staring into his eyes in confusion. Why on earth had she just done that?

"Would you stab me with the scissors if I kissed you back?" Ted asked softly, slowly putting his hands on her waist in a light hold she could easily break free of if she wanted to.

Andromeda actually had to think about that for a moment, because her highly tuned Black instincts were saying that what she decided was somehow critical for the new existence she was planning for herself. But as she looked into his beautiful eyes Andromeda found herself answering from the heart instead of her head.

"I won't stab or hex you."

"Thanks."

Leaning forward Ted brushed his lips carefully against her perfect pink lips, pressing them more firmly against Andromeda's when she leaned into him and his kiss on a sigh of pleasure. Wrapping his arms more tightly around her waist so that she was pressed up against him Ted kept his kisses light but firm, his heart starting to pound like mad in his chest when she tentatively began to kiss him back.

Lost in the kiss Ted didn't think when he lifted his right hand from her waist and moved it up so that he could cup the back of her head, his fingers sinking into the thick curls she'd caught up in a bun at her nape. And when she didn't protest that, well then Ted lost his head just a little more.

Pulling back Andromeda stared at him in shock, both from the situation she'd found herself in and from the unexpected swipe of his tongue over her bottom lip. "I did not give you permission to lick me." And hearing what she was saying, Andromeda's color got even higher so that her cheeks were almost as red as his.

"Uhm." Ted knew he was supposed to be apologizing, but he just couldn't quite bring himself to be remotely sorry. She tasted even better than an ice cold coke on a scorching day. And boy was she ever scorching, Ted thought dreamily.

Annoyed, Andromeda sensed that the brief snogging had somehow given the boy the misconception that she wouldn't kill him if he stepped out of line. "Do that again and I'll do worse than run you through with a pair of scissors, got it?"

"So…it would be okay if I asked your permission first?" He asked hopefully, his eyes going big and pleading.

Andromeda was suddenly reminded of a mongrel dog she'd seen once when she was a child. The thing had been scourging around for scraps and her mother had caught her trying to feed the pitiful creature. She could remember looking back at the mutt as her mother dragged her off, the dog looking back at her with a look that was just like the look in the Hufflepuff's eyes now. It was more than a little disconcerting.

"Quit looking at me like that." She ordered, crossing her arms in front of her as she tried to work up a stern face, finding it very difficult to maintain against his pathetic cuteness.

Ted eyes widened a little as he realized his puppy dog face was actually getting to her. He hadn't thought something so basic could undermine her icy control so easily. If he'd known that he would have used it earlier, Ted thought in indignation, even as he mentally crowed over the fact that he finally had something to combat her lady of the manor routine with.

"You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?" Mad at him for daring to think he could manipulate her, Andromeda was even more angry at herself for giving him any more ground in their bizarre relationship. He was not staying where she'd put him, Andromeda thought fiercely, the idea flabbergasting her.

"I promise not to kiss you like that again without your permission." Ted volunteered, seeing that she was stressing herself out.

"Feel free to hold your breath waiting for my permission then."


	16. Dorm Where You Live

Dorm Where You Live

After working their way through his homework for the night the two students headed out for their respective houses, though as per usual Ted refused to head back to his dormitory without seeing her as close to hers as she'd let him before threatening him with physical or magical harm. So they walked down the hallways together, Andromeda quizzing him the whole way as she tried not to think about the fact that she'd snogged the Hufflepuff earlier. Again.

She was never, ever cutting the boy's hair for him again even if he begged, Andromeda thought fiercely as she tried to ignore the fact that his closeness was making her stomach behave in a most unusual way. Like there were a hundred snitches inside, fluttering around in there like maniacs. It was a very disturbing feeling.

And it was a reaction that made absolutely no sense, Andromeda reminded herself sternly. She had walked beside the annoying Muggleborn plenty in the time she'd been stuck tutoring him. The chivalry obsessed twerp had always insisted on walking with her at least part of the way to her dorm at night. But something had shifted in their relationship in the last hour or so. Something stomach snitch inducing. And she didn't like it one bit.

Perhaps it was because she was looking for signs that the Hufflepuff was indeed in love with her. It was making her super aware of his presence, which in turn had her system acting so peculiar from prolonged Muggleborn exposure. That had to be it. It was the most logical conclusion. It wasn't like she was still reeling from those kisses they'd shared, Andromeda reassured herself. That couldn't possibly be it. She was far too sensible and Slytherin to let a few kisses affect her so seriously. And they hadn't been that great after all. Far from it in fact. She just didn't have much to compare it to and her research had already shown that Slytherin males were terrible kissers, which was why Ted's kisses had rattled her so much the first time he'd kissed her.

So intense was Andromeda's mental discussions with herself that she didn't realize how far they'd come until she realized Ted had stopped moving. Turning around Andromeda gave him a questioning look, since she had always had to send him away in the past.

"I might not be the brightest bloke in the school, Andromeda, but even I know better then to enter the snake's pit." Ted pointed out with a comical wiggling of eyebrows.

Confusion crossed Andromeda's face until she realized she was standing in the final hallway that led directly into the Slytherin dormitories. She'd let him walk her almost all the way home without a single protest on her part. Something very close to horror crossed her face at the realization of what she'd unknowing done.

And feeling brave Ted walked into the mouth of the hallway and shocked the Slytherin girl by giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "Good night, Andromeda. Sweet dreams."

Black eyes flashing, Andromeda was grateful for the darkness that hid her blush. "Care to walk me to my door?" She inquired in a soft, somehow lethal tone of voice, struggling to regain lost ground.

"How many times do I have to tell you that we Muggleborns aren't nearly as stupid as you Slytherins like to think we are?" He countered, walking backward so that he could watch her as he walked back into the well lit room behind him.

"Well seeing as you can't even walk properly we can't be far off." She returned before turning around, not bothering to echo his earlier farewell as she started down the cool hallway, her steps slowing as she heard the unmistakable sound of singing, making her pause as she listened to the words echo off the rock walls.

I have often walked down this hall before;  
But the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before.  
All at once am I, several stories high.  
Knowing I'm near the dorm where you live.  
Are there lilac trees in the heart of school?  
Can you hear a lark in any other part of school?  
Does enchantment pour Out of ev'ry door?  
No, it's just in the dorm where you live!

Unable not to laugh at his slightly off key singing, Andromeda shook her head and continued down the hallway once more, a smile on her lips and a swing to her step.

)

The next day when Andromeda arrived at the dungeon for a potions tutorial the Slytherin found Ted admiring his newly cut hair in a glass vial. Amused, Andromeda walked over to stand in front of the desk that rested between them. Leaning on the desk on her elbows Andromeda waited until she had his attention before she spoke. "Narcissistic much?"

Ted just smiled sweetly at her, still charged from last night's encounter. "Just admiring your handiwork, Andromeda."

"It did turn out rather well." She agreed regally.

"And there's nothing like a new haircut to have you looking at the world through new eyes."

"Because your bangs aren't in your eyes anymore." Andromeda pointed out with a very Black smirk, a thoughtful look coming into her eyes after a moment's pause. "A haircut really does that for you? Gives you a new mindset?" She couldn't remember ever seriously cutting her hair. It had always just been trimmed. But she knew a lot of girls who changed their hairstyles regularly. Was that why they spent so much time devising new ways to frame their faces?

"A good haircut does. A bad one is seriously depressing. Like the time my mother accidentally gave me a buzz cut. Those were dark times. Dark, dark times. Especially since I magically re-grew it overnight, but my mum insisted on shaving it off so that people wouldn't get suspicious. She'd taken me to the barber to try and have him fix it, so everyone knew."

Andromeda patted the back of her head, never before so glad to feel its length and thickness. The image of Ted bald was now in her head and Andromeda winced at the thought. It wouldn't suit the Hufflepuff in the least.

"And now you know why I always put off having my hair cut by anyone." Ted continued with an overly tragic look on his face. "Though now I know to come to you the next time it gets too shaggy. You are my Haircutting Queen."

"I'm yours?" Andromeda repeated, a single black brow arching at the very idea.

"Uhmmm…next question, please?"

Considering how to properly punish him it occurred to Andromeda that he was a big fan of her hair. Or at least he'd indicated that that time in Hogsmeade that he found it most appealing. "Maybe I should get a haircut." She all but purred, watching his face with inner glee. "I've never tried short hair before."

"Don't you dare cut your hair, Andromeda!" Ted's smile curved into a fierce frown, straightening to his full height as he stopped just short of wagging his finger at her. "You can't, I forbid it."

"You forbid it?" Andromeda repeated with a mixture of shock and heat, straightening to HER full height as she dared the boy to try and order her around. "Who are you to forbid me to do anything? I'm Andromeda Black, I will do anything I want and no one, much less a Muggleborn is going to stop me."

That she didn't want to cut her hair wasn't important, she'd hack it off herself just to spite him if it came to that.

Marching around the desk Ted stood up on his tippy toes so that he was slightly taller then she was. "Don't you cut your hair or else."

"Or else what?" Andromeda challenged, heart pounding in her chest. She wasn't used to people standing up to her. It was a rather invigorating experience.

Since it was ludicrous to think he could ever harm her, both because she'd kick his ass and because of his feelings for her, Ted had to think hard to come up with a threat that would even faze her.

"Or else I'll add a witch to my comic book series with your name and have very bad things happen to her." Ted warned her sternly, though there was a definite sparkle in his cobalt eyes. "The quill is mightier than the wand after all."

Gasping at the unexpected threat Andromeda's hands went to her hips. "In what universe is the quill a better weapon than a wand? Have you been bribed into eating strange, possible toxic things again? No one with an ounce of intelligence would prefer a quill to a wand if under attack."

"Actually, I was paraphrasing a somewhat popular phrase Muggles use. And I'm not saying that in a battle to the death I'd take a quill over a wand. Of course I'd take a wand. Even a mountain troll would probably have the sense to take the wand, not that it would know how to use it. What I meant was that you could jinx me good now for making you mad and after a short while everyone would forget that fact and talk about something else. But if I were to make a comic involving you, well then that comic could, if liked well enough, continue to circulate for years until people all around the world know Andromeda Black as a character in my comic book, as opposed to you you."

"Or I could just blind you before you make said comics and that would be the end of that."

"That would be mean. And you wouldn't do it."

Andromeda raised an eyebrow at the certainty in his voice. "Oh really? And just why wouldn't I, pray tell?"

Ted smiled at her sunnily. "Because you're not really as mean as you want other people to think you are. And we're friends."

It was one thing for her to sort of think of the Hufflepuff as a friend and an entirely different thing for him to state it like it was an undeniable fact. One part of her itched to curse him just to prove that she was still as strong and superior as ever, but Andromeda found herself ignoring that side of her nature with surprising ease. Because she really didn't want to hurt him, the Slytherin realized. And why did she lash out at him so often? Staring at him Andromeda wondered why she was so afraid of letting her guard down where the Hufflepuff was concerned. It wasn't like he could manipulate her even if they were friends, her mental superiority would never allow that to happen. Plus he was a terrible liar and didn't seem to have a truly mean bone in his body.

The same definitely couldn't be said about her, but he didn't seem to mind that.

He really wasn't the sharpest talon in the owlry.

"Well then, if we're friends, you can't draw a mean comic about me so the argument is mote." Andromeda announced coolly, unaware of how happy she'd just made the boy by not denying that they were in fact friends. "But just to make it clear, us being…friends…doesn't mean I'm going to start being nicer to you. My personality has been cemented over seventeen years and I have no intention of changing for anyone. And I will hurt you if you add me to your comic."

"Uhmmm." Ted looked off to the side, knowing how easily she read his expressions. Not to mention he was a horrible liar and they both knew it well.

Andromeda's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'm already in your stupid comic, aren't I?"

"There's no character named Andromeda in my comic."

"First thing in the morning I want to see all the comic strips involving a character based on me. You'll have them ready for me or else." Her tone of voice said it all.

"Yes, ma'am."

)

Ted had to stay up late copying every one of his comic drawings, fearing what Andromeda might do to the originals if she didn't like the strips. Since the character he'd based off his dream girl was very similar in looks and demeanor to Andromeda Ted held no hope that she wouldn't recognize herself in the comics. The best he could hope for was that not all her humor was as dark as her eyes. And of course he had to fine tune some things, knowing she'd be looking at them. He didn't want her thinking his rough copies were the best he could do.

Needless to say he didn't get any sleep that night and annoyed his roommates quite a bit.

The next morning, with much yawning and apologies for yawning, Ted handed out a file folder containing the comics he'd drawn since he'd gone home for Easter. He was showing her all the work he had available and the Hufflepuff saw no reason to tell her that he had loads of comics back home involving her.

Taking the folder Andromeda's eyes narrowed as she flipped through the artwork briefly. "And this is all of it?"

"Everything I have here at Hogwarts."

Which meant she'd been right to assume that he would have more at his place of residence, Andromeda thought as she stored that information away for later consideration. She'd deal with that somehow if it became an issue. "Fine then. I'll see you tonight as usual."

Ted nodded, smiling away as he tried to hide how worried he was about what she'd think of his work. "See you then, My Fair Lady. Have a good day."

"My Fair Lady?" Andromeda repeated, not sure how to take his new habit of referring to her as his. She really was going to have to find a way to break that habit of his if it continued. Bad things were likely to happen to him.

"It's a musicale and film. The song I was singing last night is from it. You don't have a lot in common with Eliza Doolittle on the surface, but you've got a similar mean streaks."

"Hmm." He really had to stop comparing her to fictional characters she didn't know. It made her itch to find out more about the people which wasn't possible since they were from the Muggle World and not her own. It was very, very irritating.

Ted smiled as he rocked back on his heels. "Yup. Though I gotta say, if at the end the doctor had demanded you to tell him where his slippers were you'd have bewitched them to smack him upside the head until he got a concussion."

"That sounds about right." She agreed with the faintest of smiles. "Now we should head inside before we are late for our breakfast."

"And breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

Nodding her head in agreement, Andromeda turned and headed into the Hall for breakfast, the folder tucked under her arm and Ted walking at her side until they split up to go to their mutual tables.

)

As soon as she had some free time Andromeda found a quiet place to sit and began to read through his comics. Against her will the Slytherin girl found herself smiling and even laughing at the outrageous antics of Martin Miggs. He really was the most stupid of Muggles, she thought with a shake of her head, becoming fond of the character despite herself. He had a charm about him, as his creator did, that kept him from being too irritating in his foolishness.

In the comic her name was Analise, and she was a witch who lived next store to Martin Miggs. The Muggle was hopeless infatuated with the woman, having no idea that she was in fact a witch. A lot of bad things happened to Martin as a result of his clumsy attempts to court the cool, very disinterested Analise White.

Not the most original last name, Andromeda thought with a roll of her eyes, even as she silently admitted to liking this cartoon version of herself. Not that she had any intention of telling the Hufflepuff that.

But she would allow him to try and have his comic published, Andromeda decided once she'd read all the strips. And she would even read them if they were published, to find out if Analise ever decided to really give the irritating Muggle what was coming to him, consequences be damned.

Though she couldn't understand how even a Muggle could end up living in a town full of witches and wizards and not try to come up with crazy ways to explain the magical things that occurred around him.

The townspeople had a lot of fun at Martin Miggs's expense.

And who could blame them?


	17. What Did You Say

What Did You Say

Sitting on his bed that night with his back braced up against his headboard, Ted worked away at his comics like a man obsessed, having come up with a fabulous idea after Andromeda had informed him that she liked his drawings well enough to not object to her character. It was going to be awesome, Ted thought as his pencil flew across the parchment. His best storyline ever if he did say so himself. It was going to be more epic than Heston's, 'The Ten Commandments'.

"If you're going to stay up all night drawing pictures of Andromeda Black again I'm going to smother you with my pillow." Ted's roommate Casper muttered from the bed beside him.

Ted looked over to give the man a split second look of apology before turning back to his work.

"You know if you keep obsessing about her to this degree you're never going to get a girlfriend, which also means you're never going to get one naked." Casper persisted, and not for the first time. He got that Andromeda Black was hot, he had eyes in his head after all, but he didn't see the point in his roommate wasting his time pining for the Slytherin Queen.

Ted's cheeks flushed as he pictured Andromeda naked in his mind. She'd be even more beautiful than a Veela, he thought with a sigh of longing.

"You're pathetic, you know that don't you?"

"Oh I know. But she talks to me, Casper. We hold conversations. And I never thought that was possible either. I think we're going to be good friends, just you wait and see."

Casper lifted his head from his pillow and shook his head in exasperation. "Ted, why would you want to be friends with her? That's even worse than drooling at her from afar. Even if the world went to hell in a hand basket and you did become friends, you don't exactly want to be her shoulder to cry on when some bloke treats her bad or she has a spat with someone."

"Andromeda's not the cry on anyone's shoulder type. She's not the crying type period."

Ted's roommate couldn't argue with that. "All I'm saying is that sooner or later you're going to trip yourself up and she's going to realize how you feel about her. And when that day comes she'd going to squish your heart like a bug under her foot, mark my words."

"She wouldn't deliberately squish a bug under her foot either. She doesn't like her things to be dirtied or stained in anyway. If she wanted to kill a bug she'd just use her wand."

Casper stared at his friend, slowly shaking his head back and forth. "Why do I even bother?"

"Couldn't tell you." Ted answered, not looking up from his artwork, a faint smile curving his lips when his friend gave a sigh of defeat and went quiet. "Night, Casper."

"Night, you bloody idiot."

)

They were halfway through their tutoring session the next day when Ted turned the page of his Charms book and spotted the letter that had been shoved between the book's pages. Brows furrowing Ted picked up the letter with a curious look on his face. "Now where did you come from?" He murmured, completely losing track of what Andromeda was saying to him as he studied the envelope which had his name on it in flowing, female script.

Annoyed when she realized she was being ignored Andromeda gave the Hufflepuff a dark look, one he missed since he was too busy opening an envelope. "You can read your mail after our lesson."

"But I want to know who it's from." Ted argued as he slid the sheet of parchment from the envelope. "It doesn't have a return address and whoever sent it must have slipped it into my textbook while I wasn't looking."

"You're opening mail from someone you don't know?" Andromeda gave him a look that said she thought he was dumber than a mountain troll. "What were you thinking? Do you know how easy it is to booby-trap letters? Well? Do you? Have you heard nothing I've said about the members of my house who would love to send you to St Mungos?"

Ted waved the still folded piece of paper in her direction. "Look, its fine. My hand is not dissolving off my wrist."

"Not yet its not." Andromeda murmured nastily in response, her aggravating only increasing as he unfolded the letter and started to read it. The look on his face tipped her off that there was still reason to worry about the contents of the letter. "What does it say?"

"Someone wants to meet me tomorrow by the lake." Ted answered thoughtfully. "They don't give their name, just that whoever it is, she's in Hufflepuff. Or at least I'm assuming it's a she. That's what the writing looks like to me. Nice penmanship."

Thinking of her sisters and the traps they might lay Andromeda neatly snatched the piece of parchment from his hands before he could stop her. Studying the handwriting she was relieved to see that the style bore absolutely no resemblance to either of her sisters' hands. Reading the sparse note as well Andromeda didn't get any bad vibes, but there was something about it that annoyed her on some basic, almost primal level.

Handing it back to the Hufflepuff Andromeda gave him a questioning look. "Are you going to go?"

"Well I have to, don't I?" He returned as he refolded the letter and slid it back into the envelope. "The writer didn't leave any way for me to contact her. It would be rude of me to let her wait there and not show up. Besides, the girl obviously wants to talk to me about something important, and I'm not doing anything particular tomorrow anyway."

Andromeda couldn't have said why, but the idea irked her. "She's terribly rude, to be so inconsiderate of your time and schedule. Using your good manners to force you to see her, just disgraceful. A real lady would never behave in such a way. She's probably some classless twit with as much intelligence as she has breeding."

Ted's lips twitched even as he shook his head at her way of thinking. "One's breeding doesn't dictate good manners, Andromeda. I'm barely middle class and I at least have the good manners not to insult people I've never met."

Andromeda's back straightened as his meaning hit home. Dark eyes flashing the Slytherin glared coolly at her companion. "Are you suggesting I have no manners?"

"No, but I'm saying it's wrong to say mean things about someone you don't know. I get that that's become your new way of dealing with your changing views of Muggles and Muggleborns, but still…words have a lot of power, Andy. A wound delivered by words can leave marks that will last a lot longer than ones delivered by a wand."

Andromeda's eyes narrowed. "You just called me Andy."

"Did I?" Ted's face was all innocence.

Now it was Andromeda's lips that twitched ever so slightly. But she wasn't about to let what he'd said go either. "I've said negatives things about other people before, why do you care now? What's so special about this letter writer anyway?"

If it had been any other girl Ted would have thought she was jealous. "I don't say anything because most of the time you don't mean it. You just say it because it's what you've been trained your whole life to say. It's a lot easier to learn bad behavior than it is to unlearn it, so I'm giving you some slack."

There was something in his expression that made Andromeda want to squirm like a naughty child being scolded. "I…I would be polite to your family…if I were to ever meet them. Even if they are Muggles."

"Because you're too smart not to know that I wouldn't easily forgive you if you hurt them or their feelings." Ted countered, pointing his quill in her direction knowingly.

Since that was the reason she'd be anything approaching nice to the people Andromeda conceded his point. "Do you think I will ever meet them? Your family?" She couldn't imagine them clearly, or how she would ever manage to spend more than an hour with them, but she would try. It was mindboggling really, to know that she would.

Ted grinned widely at the idea. "I'd like to introduce you to them someday."

"I'd…like to meet them too…someday." And hating the gooey feelings his grin was causing Andromeda sought to banish them. "I should very much like to see what sort of people would unleash someone like you into the word without better supervision and common sense."

Not offended in the least Ted kept on grinning. "And I'd like to meet your parents properly too, but that would not end well at all."

"The house elf would bury you in the backyard."

Ted laughed, even though he could see that she wasn't really joking. "And would you cry and put flowers on my makeshift grave?"

Andromeda's tone was dry as she answered him. "Given how little would be left of you it would be more of a hole than a grave."

"Ouch."

)

The next morning Andromeda staked out a spot so that she would see anyone who moved to approach the assigned meeting place. Ted was under the impression that there was nothing to worry about, but the boy didn't worry about things half as often as he should. So it was up to her to take care of him. Again. It was becoming a full time job, Andromeda thought as her dark eyes scanned the school landscape for potential problems. Ted was already standing under the designated tree, which annoyed her even though she often lectured him about the importance of punctuality. He was usually just on time when dealing with her after all.

Andromeda had come up with two logical explanations for this meeting, neither of which she liked. The first was that some members of her house wanted to lure him away from the general school population for the purpose of harming him, the other that some stupid Hufflepuff twit wanted to confess her feelings to him.

Of course it was most likely not the second scenario, Andromeda assured herself, even as her eyes darkened and narrowed at every female within her eye sight. After all, who would want to confess to Ted? It wasn't like he was the kind of guy the girls went wild for. And he would have told her if there was some hussy at Hogwarts who was interest in him. Men liked to brag about that sort of thing.

A real woman of class and breeding would never be so bold or eager as to call a boy out to declare her feelings. Talk about appearing desperate, Andromeda sniffed as she crossed her arms in front of her. A man would have to be equally desperate to be interested in such a woman. Ted couldn't possible he that desperate.

But nothing she told herself was very comforting and Andromeda found herself evaluating every girl she spotted, finding multiple faults with all of them. From having cankles to wearing too much jewelry, the Slytherin found something to dislike about every single one.

That the girl who finally moved to approach Ted at the tree was a whole minute late did nothing to endear herself to the Slytherin, who watched the girl the way a cat eyed a lame mouse.

Leaning back against the tree Andromeda watched the exchange from where she was with one hand in her jacket pocket. The pocket that contained her wand.

The two chattered back and forth, Andromeda's eyes flashing when the girl pulled something out of her coat and held it out to Ted with much blushing.

And he took it, Andromeda thought with flames all but shooting out of her eyes. You two timing, self centered, prat, she inwardly fumed, envisioning herself cursing the cad into the next century with dark pleasure. When she got through with him he'd rue the day he thought he could toy with her affection and than throw her over for some badly dressed, frizzy haired, Hufflepuff harlot.

Realizing what she was thinking Andromeda paled, swaying where she stood as she reeled from the idea that she was…just possibly…jealous.

She'd never been jealous before so she had no precedent to go by. She just knew that she hated the sight of Ted with another girl. Like he belonged to her and this hag was trying to steal him from her. Not that she could manage that of course. No one stole from Andromeda Black and lived to tell the tale. It wouldn't be difficult at all to set the bitch straight about whose man she was making eyes at.

She was thinking of Ted as her man now?

Merlin help her, Andromeda thought as she slowly shook her head at her own thoughts. She needed to go to St. Mungos for a round of shock spells. Now.

Feeling weak in the knees Andromeda sat down hard on the ground, staring into space as she tried to figure out how her brain could be malfunctioning to such a severe degree. It shouldn't be possible. Bella was the one in their family with mental problems and horrible taste in men.

"Andromeda!"

Andromeda blinked as she looked up to see Ted running towards her, coming to a stop in front of her.

"Are you okay?" Ted demanded to know, squatting down like a catcher so that he could see her face better. She was pale and her eyes were glassy, not good signs. "Do you feel faint? Did you eat something bad? Did you eat shellfish at lunch? My mum always says you shouldn't eat anything that carries its house around with it because you never know how often they clean it. Does the food vary depending on the table? I don't think there was any seafood on our table today."

"What…what are you doing here?" Andromeda asked, her brain so fried that she was fuzzy on all the other details.

Ted reached out and placed one cool hand over Andromeda's forehead. "I had that meeting, remember? I was over there and the girl, Alyssa, she said you were watching us and when I looked over you were all pale and than you sat down on the ground. I figured something had to be pretty wrong for you to just sit in the dirt like that. I know how fussy you are about your clothes. So do you feel faint? Should I go get someone?"

She was sitting on dirt? Andromeda looked down, realizing that she was indeed sitting on the ground without anything between her clothes and the earth. This day just keeps getting better and better, Andromeda thought darkly as she forced herself to her feet, Teddy rising with her, keeping his hands firmly on her upper arms to support her in case she stumbled.

Blinking Andromeda forced herself to meet his concerned eyes. "I'm fine. Don't trouble yourself."

"You're out of your genius mind if you think I'm just going to leave you here." Ted was insulted she thought that he would. "Now come on, let's get you inside and looked over, okay?"

"What about your little meeting with that girl?"

Ted looked over in the direction of the girl in question and than back to Andromeda. "I'm sure she'll understand. And we already had our meeting so to speak. She and I can talk more later if she wants to."

"And she likes you, doesn't she?" Andromeda asked, wincing slightly at the sulkiness of her tone. Holy Harpies, what was wrong with her today?

Blushing at her words Ted was still flabbergasted by the girl's confession. "How did you know that? Can you read lips? I've always wondered how you train people to do that. I mean the way your mouth moves can't be that distinctive for every word, can it?"

"What did you say, when she told you how she felt?" Andromeda demanded to know, ignoring his other questions. She'd deal with them later if he persisted but for the moment she had to know what the outcome of the meet had been. Did Ted fancy the girl? Was that why he was blushing? Were the two going to start going out now? Was she being replaced?

"Well that's really none of your business."

Andromeda reached out and grasped the startled boy by his lapels. "What. Did. You. Say. To. Her?" She all but hissed, her Slytherin nature really showing as her dark eyes dared him to continue to leave her in the dark.

It was Ted's turn to pale a little, knowing that he was in a lot of trouble but having no idea what he'd done to piss her off. And it was never a good idea to piss her off, especially to this degree. But why would she care so much what he'd said to Alyssa, Ted wondered as he stared into her fierce black eyes. "Do you…uh…know her?" Ted asked weakly, wondering if Andromeda had some prior beef with the girl that was making her behave so out of character.

"Ted." Andromeda's voice was soft and low, sending shivers down the Hufflepuff's spine in reaction. "I won't ask you this again. What did you say to her after she confessed her feelings to you?"

"I told her that I was really flattered but that there was someone else I liked." Ted blurted out, feeling like his continued existence on the planet depended upon him answering her to her satisfaction.

The Slytherin's eyes took on an interested gleam.

"And just who do you like, Ted?"

The Hufflepuff gulped hard. "I don't suppose I can decline to answer that question?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Didn't think so."


	18. A Revealing Day

A Revealing Day

His life flashing before his eyes Ted wanted to protest that the show was way too short, which meant that he should be allowed to live a while longer. At least long enough to see two decades, that didn't seem like too much to ask. But somehow he didn't think that argument would work with Andromeda at that particular moment in time. Nor could he continue to evade or lie, she'd hurt him bad if he tried to lie. He tried the puppy dog look, but it was a no go today apparently. And so, going as red as a tomato, Ted stuttered out the response to her question.

"The girl I like most…is you."

Andromeda studied the Hufflepuff closely and then nodded her head in satisfaction. "That's what I thought. Keep it that way if you know what's good for you." She added, just in case.

And now that she was sure of her top placing Andromeda felt her energy and strength return to her. Enough so that she decided she didn't need to waste her time standing around talking to him when there were other things she could be doing. With a nod in his direction and a short farewell, Andromeda started to walk back towards the castle.

"Wait. What?" Blinking in surprise Ted stared at her retreating back, his brain slowly regenerating as he struggled to understand what had just happened. And unable to do that Ted went on pure instinct, running after her as he sought to find out why she hadn't just cursed his brains out.

Grabbing her by her upper arm Ted spun the shocked Slytherin around so that she was facing him, her surprise written all over her face. "What do you mean, keep it like that?" The Hufflepuff demanded to know. "Why aren't you mad? Why aren't I dead? I don't understand."

"I'm going to get very mad if you don't take your hand off my arm. Now."

"But why are you pleased at the idea that I fancy you? Shouldn't that upset you? I mean popular girls hate it when geeky guys like me fancy them. Unless they need help doing their homework, but that doesn't matter here because you don't need to copy anyone's homework, and copying mine would be pointless." Ted struggled to articulate his enormous confusion over the strange, parallel universe he seemed to have fallen into. "So why would you be pleased about this unless…unless…unless you like me back."

Andromeda's eyes narrowed at his words. "Don't flatter yourself."

He wasn't the type to flatter himself, but for the life of him Ted couldn't shake the feeling that he'd hit the nail on the head. It should be ludicrous and completely unbelievable, but instinct was telling him something else entirely. And he was a man to go with his gut.

"Andy…do you like me back?"

"Call me that again in public and I'll curse you into the next century, Muggleborn." Andromeda shot back, doing her best to hide her uneasiness as the Hufflepuff turned the tables on her. She really didn't like that she was becoming so transparent where he was concerned. Especially to someone as oblivious as Ted normally was. If it was that obvious she was in serious trouble. Because it was one thing for her to know and accept, and another for anyone other to know that she'd made the unbelievably stupid mistake of falling for the geek.

Taking his life into his hands, Ted called her bluff, moving into her personal space big time as he met her gaze head on. "Andy."

Hot color flashing up her cheeks Andromeda stared at the man, shocked beyond words that he'd called her bluff. What was she supposed to do now? She couldn't back down, if she backed down then he'd know that she had a…a…that she fancied him. Oh Merlin help her, she fancied this geeky, awkward, silly Muggleborn and so she couldn't hurt him. Not even a little. She just couldn't make herself do it. Not even to preserve her pride.

"I…I…I HATE YOU, TED TONKS!" Andromeda snapped out, blushing like mad as she glared at him. "Drop dead!"

Ted was so taken aback by her response that he stayed frozen in place as he watched her run off.

"Wow." Blinking several times Ted reached up and pinched both his cheeks. "Huh."

)

Arthur and Molly went looking for the Hufflepuff, having heard through the grapevine that Andromeda Black had crushed Ted Tonks like an ant in front of everyone. So, being the good friends that they were, they were prepared not to tell him that they'd told him so and instead comfort in his hour of need. They found the younger man off by himself, sitting under a tree on the school's grounds while gazing off into the distance like he was a centaur in meditation.

The two Gryffindors took a seat on either side of the Hufflepuff, Arthur slugging a shoulder around the other man's shoulder for added comfort.

"We heard about what happened with Andromeda Black. Sorry she…hurt your feelings." Molly began, trying to think of a nice way of putting things. "But don't you worry, I'm going to have a talk with her about talking to you that way. Especially after you were so nice to her, defending her when everyone was saying mean things about her." And to think she'd been starting to think the woman was somewhat tolerable, Molly thought with a bad tempered huff. She should have stuck with her first instincts and continued to hope that some Muggles found a way to actually burn the witch at the stake.

"She didn't hurt my feelings." Ted informed Molly, shocking the woman with a big grin that all but split his face. "And today is the best day ever, so no need to feel sorry for me. I'm just basking in it."

With a very concern look on her face Molly leaned forward so that she could meet Arthur's gaze. "It blew his brain. Having her tell him she hated him blew his brain. It's not working anymore. What should we do? Should we take him to Madam Pomfrey? Could she help him? Oh I'm going to make Black so very sorry when I'm done with her."

Ted laughed, amused at her reaction. "No, seriously. I'm fine. Better than fine. I'm happier than I've ever been before. Today is the best day ever. And she doesn't hate me. I know that's what she said, but she didn't mean it. If she hated me she would have cursed me until my brains leaked out of my ears. But she didn't, so I know she meant the exact opposite."

"The exact opposite?" Arthur repeated, his shock written all over his face as he tried to wrap his head around the other man's logic. "But, Ted….the opposite of hate is love."

"Okay, not the exact opposite…that's probably pushing it a little." Ted acknowledged, too happy to let the semantics bother him overly as he basked in his good fortune. "But she doesn't hate me. She likes me. She really likes me."

"And you've decided she really likes you because she didn't kill you?" Molly's voice all but dripped disbelief as she marveled at the male capacity to twist a situation to suit them. It was amazing really. And scary as hell. It was no wonder the world was going to the Death Eaters faster and faster everyday. Men were running the damn country Voldemort wanted to take over.

Ted grinned at the Gryffindor, her words not even putting a dent in his happiness. "Think about it, Molly. Think about everything you know about Andromeda Black. Because I told her that I fancied her, me, the Muggleborn, and I deliberately called her, to her face, a nickname she's warned me numerous times against calling her in public. Now think about that and tell me she doesn't like me too."

Staring at the Hufflepuff Molly opened and closed her mouth several times, no words coming out. And for Molly Prewett, that was saying something.

"You did all that and all she did was say she hates you?" Arthur shook his head, amazement written all over his face. "Wow. You're right. She does like you." A grin breaking out over his face the Gryffindor gave the other man a manly slap on the back. "Way to go, Ted. Congratulations. You're living every man's dream."

"What do you mean, every man's dream?" Molly demanded to know, her boyfriend's words snapping her out of her shock.

Paling a little at the look in her eyes Arthur's shoulders hunched reflexively as he stumbled over his explanation. "I just meant…it's not like I've ever fancied…it's just that she's his dream girl. Hardly any guy ever gets a date with his dream girl, much less has his feelings returned. That's all I meant, Molly. I swear."

"And you're his dream girl, which makes the two of us the luckiest men in Hogwarts." Ted added, trying to help his friend out.

"What he said." Arthur quickly agreed, shooting Ted a quick, grateful look.

"Hmm." The fire in Molly's eyes died down a little, but didn't completely abate. "And don't count your chickens before they hatch, boys. Just because she didn't kill him doesn't mean she could learn to fancy him. Even Blacks probably balk a little at killing a puppy." But even as she said that Molly had to admit that maybe that was being a little kind. "Okay, even a Black like Andromeda would balk at killing a puppy. Bellatrix would not only kill it, she'd stuff it and have it returned to its child owner."

"She's that bad?"

"She's that bad." Molly and Arthur said together.

"She'd kill a puppy." Ted repeated, his horror plain as he imagined it.

"I think you should be a little more concerned about how easily she'd kill you if she knew that you fancied her sister. And that her sister wasn't discouraging you. I'm not kidding you, Ted either. She'd probably kill Andromeda before she'd let you touch her sister."

Ted stared at Molly, her words sinking in and registering. It wasn't like this was news to him, he'd gotten that hammered into his head plenty by too many people to count. And several Slytherins had tried to cursing him because of his rumored relationship with Andromeda already. So he knew…and in his bones didn't care.

Andromeda Black was worth dying for.

)

The fact that she'd been tempted to hide out in her bedroom for the rest of the day shocked and embarrassed Andromeda. Which in turn had shocked her enough that she'd forced herself to stay outside the Slytherin dormitories and wander, somewhat aimlessly, through the school instead. She ignored the looks she was getting from her fellow students, would have ignored anyone had they dared to try and speak to her. Merlin help anyone who dared to mess with her, Andromeda thought darkly as she strolled through the hallways, so lost in her own thoughts that she was completely oblivious to her surroundings as the people thinned out and vanished completely as she headed into hallways rarely seen or used by students. When she did become aware of her surroundings Andromeda was embarrassed to find that she had absolutely no idea where she was.

Cheeks flushing with color Andromeda would have cursed under her breath if she'd been the type to curse. But being a lady she had to settle for stomping her foot in annoyance. Looking around her the Slytherin sighed and started heading back the way she'd come, able to tell which way that was because of her dusty footsteps on the floor. Lovely, Andromeda thought darkly as she studied the ground. She was sure to pick up all sorts of lovely things on the bottoms of her shoes now.

Yet another sin to lie at Ted Tonk's door, Andromeda thought as she mentally cursed the Hufflepuff into oblivion.

Heading down the hallway Andromeda slowed down a little, deciding that the situation wasn't so bad after all. Nobody would bother her here. Nobody would find her here. She could do as she liked without anyone watching her except maybe a ghost or two. And Ted had already embarrassed her beyond belief in front of the Baron and Friar. What was a couple more at this point?

To amuse herself Andromeda opened the doors as she passed them, sticking her head in to see what was in them. The first three were empty, but the forth had something within it that had her walking into the room, approaching the floor length mirror with interest.

It was all by itself, this one adornment in a large room surrounded by windows. The mirror wasn't overly ornate, but there was something about it that called to her on some basic level. A siren's call, Andromeda considered, wary now as her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. She knew too much about the darkness that could hide in the most innocent of inanimate objects. And it must be kept away from the student population for a reason.

To buy herself some time Andromeda walked over to one of the windows, drawing out her wand to splash the filthy panes with water. No way was she wiping them off with her coat sleeve. It wasn't happening.

Looking through the somewhat clean window Andromeda got her bearings, pulling out her pocket watch so that she could check the time too, just in case. She still had a couple hours before dinner, so she was good there. No way was she missing dinner and letting anyone think she was too scared to face the Hufflepuff after all.

And now that she was sure of her time and place Andromeda allowed her eyes to turn back to the mirror.

Keeping her wand in her hand just in case, Andromeda walked over to approach the mirror, watching her own reflection carefully for signs of impending trouble. And as she stared into the reflective surface Andromeda watched with growing apprehension as the image on the mirror changed and altered before her eyes.

Her face changed, aged a little, but her expression was one she couldn't recall ever making. She couldn't recall ever looking so…happy before. And as she watched another image appeared, one of a man with ordinary features, but an equally happy face. In the mirror the older version of Ted wrapped an arm around her waist, turning his head to place a kiss against the side of her head. His other arm was holding up a little girl of perhaps two, her blonde hair pulled back in pigtails, her resemblance to her father uncanny.

The woman who looked like her smiled even wider, leaning against the other Teddy while reaching out to stroke the little girl's cheek.

Placing a hand over her mouth as she stared at the mirror Andromeda didn't know what to think as the woman in the mirror didn't do the same.

The woman just smiled and wrapped her arm around Ted's waist instead, her eyes knowing as she met Andromeda's squarely.

)

Dumbledore was certainly surprised to find himself showing Andromeda Black into his office at her insistence. She was Head Girl so she'd been to his office before, but he sensed that the girl's visit had nothing to do with the school and was of a far more personal nature. Motioning for her to take a seat Dumbledore knew something had to be up when she took the offered seat without protest. In the past she'd always insisted on standing unless made to sit.

"So what can I do for you, Miss. Black?" He asked genially, taking his own seat behind his desk.

"I have a question about a mirror, Sir. One that resides within this school." Andromeda answered, quickly giving him the correct floor and wing while her dark eyes watched him intently, waiting for some sign of recognition on his part. "Do you know it, Headmaster?"

"As it happens I do. But I'm surprised you were out that way, Miss. Black. You're not one to go off the beaten path so to speak."

Ignoring the insinuations Andromeda asked the question she'd come to ask. "What does the mirror show its viewer, Headmaster. What is its purpose?"

Lacing his fingers in front of him as he considered her question, Dumbledore couldn't help but wonder just what the girl had seen in the mirror that had rattled her so badly that she was willing to come to him for help. She never approached him unless it was school related, it was actually fair to say that she avoided him like most of her house.

Being the genius that he was the headmaster knew better then to ask her what she'd seen.

"The Mirror of Erised shows its viewer what they desire most. A person completely content and happy with their life would see nothing but their reflection. Or I would imagine that is so. I've yet to meet any individual who does not see more in the reflection of that mirror."

Fighting the urge to wrap her arms defensively around herself Andromeda made herself hold the old man's gaze. "I see."

"Is that all you wanted to know. Miss. Black?"

"Yes, Sir. That's all."

Doomed, Andromeda thought as she remained seated in the chair. She was doomed.


	19. Accepting Her Fate

Accepting Her Fate

Walking down the school's many hallways Andromeda was constantly tempted to fall to her knees, raise her hands pleadingly in the air, and beg to know what on earth she could have possible done to offend the cosmos to the degree where they'd cause her to fall in love with Ted Tonks as punishment. Had she unknowing killed someone? Been so mean to someone that they killed his or herself? People really were reincarnated as animals and she'd dissected the wrong one? What could she possibly have done to deserve this?

"Why me?" Andromeda muttered under her breath. "Why me?"

Doomed. She was absolutely doomed. And worse, she wasn't only dooming herself, she was dooming that adorable child in the mirror too. She was dooming that poor girl to share half of Ted Tonk's genes. The Black genes were incredibly strong and ideal, but somehow Andromeda just couldn't see them as being tough enough to completely eradicate the Muggleborn's inferior bloodlines. All Blacks were incredibly good looking-well, except for her younger sister when she was trying to pull off Lucius's snotty look. Then Narcissa looked far from her best, Andromeda thought with a shake of her head. But by and large they were all very attractive and seriously brilliant, but were her side's looks and smarts enough to override Ted's plainness and average intelligence? Well except for his eyes, she silently amended. She wouldn't mind any child of hers inheriting those. And okay, maybe he wasn't bad looking, he just wasn't as good looking as the men in her family, but who were? And when he applied himself he did well enough in school, better than a lot of the other morons in his house.

But still, with those Muggle genes her daughter's future was looking grim. Her daughter could end up married to some social outcast with no job, money, or future.

And it would be all her fault for not picking a better man to be the girl's father.

Not that Ted would be a bad father, in fact that man would probably be a very good one. He was kind, patient, and would probably spoil the little girl rotten. Which meant that she'd be stuck setting all the rules and enforcing them, but she liked bending people to her superior will so that wasn't exactly a bad thing in her book, Andromeda silently acknowledged. And he'd certainly be a better parent then a lot of her male social peers, who would have otherwise donated the other half of her hypothetical daughter's genes. Ted at least would never treat his daughter like she was property or a pawn to be used as he saw fit regardless of her thoughts and feelings.

So their imaginary daughter wouldn't be as good looking, brilliant or as Slytherin as she was…but she would have a better father, childhood, and a good idea of what a girl should look for in a man.

Huh.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.

Shaking her head Andromeda forced herself to face the fact that she needed to get her head on straight and accept the fact that no matter how much she berated and insulted Ted in her head she couldn't talk herself out of being in love with the Hufflepuff.

She was quickly cluing into the fact that thinking badly of him now actually made her feel bad. And she was feeling bad enough as it was.

Deep in her dark thoughts Andromeda was almost to the Great Hall when she happened to spy a familiar Hufflepuff leaning up against a nearby wall. Oh goody, the Slytherin thought darkly, more proof that the fates had it in for her.

Obviously spotting her as well Andromeda watched as Ted straightened and headed in her direction, looking rather like a puppy who'd been waiting eagerly for his master to return home from school.

He really was so adorable.

Doing her best to push that thought aside Andromeda adopted a cool, disinterested look automatically. "What do you want?" She asked bluntly when he came to a stop in front of her, giving the appearance that if he had a tail he'd be wagging it.

"I just wanted to make sure that we're still meeting after dinner to study." Ted told her with a wide smile. "Even though you hate me."

Andromeda slowly raised an eyebrow. "You like the idea that I hate you that much?"

"Idiots like me are easily made happy." He answered with a knowing little gleam in his eyes that conveyed to Andromeda clearly that the Hufflepuff was unfortunately not as stupid as she'd used to think he was. He had figured out that her harsh words had been a smoke screen intended to disguise the fact that she hadn't jinxed him for calling her Andy. Damn.

"You are an idiot."

Ted just kept smiling and looking at her questioningly.

Belatedly remembering his question Andromeda wanted to tell him that no, they weren't going to be studying together, tonight or any other night. She wanted to run away as fast as she could. And it was that thought that had her digging her heels in with every ounce of stubborn pigheadedness she possessed. Because she was a Black. Blacks ran from no one. Especially from Hufflepuff Muggleborns who were as dangerous as a three legged bunny rabbit. Physically anyway. He was as dangerous as the Dark Lord when it came to her heart apparently.

But in the end it would be too cowardly to stop the study sessions, especially since if she was being honest with herself she didn't want to end the tutoring either. She actually wanted to spend as much time with the Hufflepuff as possible.

"No, we'll meet as planned. You won't pass into seventh year without my help."

Actually he could pass sixth year having caught up enough to get by, but neither pointed that out as they headed inside the Great Hall side by side without another word.

)

To say she didn't have much of an appetite that night would be an understatement. She pretty much picked at what she did put on her plate and silently counted down the time until she could leave the table without drawing unwanted attention on herself. Not that she was all that eager to head to a classroom to be with Ted alone of course, that was absurd, Andromeda told herself repeatedly, with a firmness that accepted no argument.

Heading out of the Great Hall as soon as propriety allowed the Slytherin hurried down the hallways on her way to the potions classroom she'd reserved for the night. Thank Merlin it was potions; that at least would require both of their complete attentions since the Hufflepuff had a habit of almost blowing them up. Not that the potion they'd be working on should be explosion causing, but one was always possible when her Hufflepuff was doing the potion making.

Her Hufflepuff. Oh dear heavens.

Arriving at the proper classroom Andromeda got busy getting out the required ingredients, knowing Ted would be a while given his perchance for eating everything in sight. And once that was done she had nothing left to do but to take a seat and brood over the latest and completely unexpected turn in her life plans.

Ten minutes later, when she heard the sound of the classroom door being opened, Andromeda slid smoothly off her chair as she turned to watch him come into the room.

Immediately she noticed that while his book bag was visible on his shoulder Ted's left hand was behind his back, obviously indicating that he was hiding something from her sight. Eyes narrowing suspiciously Andromeda's eyes warned of dire consequences if he sprung some sort of surprise on her. She'd had enough surprises.

Coming to a stop in front of her Ted brought his hidden hand back around, revealing the fact that he was holding a bouquet of purple irises and yellow roses. "These are for you."

Taking them from him automatically Andromeda found herself struck dumb, something that had rarely happened to her in the past but seemed to be happening a lot now that she was involved with the Muggleborn. She'd received flowers before, but she didn't think that he'd brought her her favorite flowers by sheer dumb luck. He'd remembered, Andromeda thought as she looked up from the blossoms to meet his gaze. He'd remembered.

"Thank you."

Smiling over the girlie look that had come onto her face Ted knew better than to let her see how much he was enjoying her reaction.

Reading his face easily enough Andromeda went gooey inside over how happy her acceptance of his gift made him. He really was so adorably…lovable. She'd never stood a chance once she'd been forced to really see him, she thought with a sigh.

And she wasn't going to run away from what she knew to be right.

Setting the bouquet on the nearest desk Andromeda stared at the Hufflepuff for several long heartbeats and then, going against every Black instinct, she reached out and hugged the Hufflepuff, holding him tight as she relaxed against him.

The Hufflepuff in question froze only for a moment before he wrapped his arms around her waist as well, cradling her just close. Turning his head Ted breathed in the scent of her hair, making a low sound of pleasure. "If I knew flowers equaled hugs I would have brought you a bouquet everyday."

Laughing softly Andromeda couldn't help but smile too.

Holding her as long as she would allow Ted made no protest when she finally pulled away, the Hufflepuff simply moving his hands from her waist to her cheeks, cradling her beautiful face between his hands, his thumbs stroking the soft skin there.

And understanding what he was silently asking permission to do Andromeda nodded her head and leaned in, pressing her lips against his.

The kiss was brief and sweet, but full of promise of things to come between them.

Drawing back Andromeda reached out with one hand to draw his bangs back from his eyes so that she could look into them without any of his hair getting in the way. "I'm a Black. I'll always be a Black. I might change a little, but my core nature is never going to change. And all my relatives with the exception of my cousin Sirius are going to be wishing you to hell at the very least, plotting to send you there early is even more likely. No good can come of you wanting to be around me. You know that, right?"

Tightening his arms back around her to keep her in place Ted smiled at her. "Being around you is a very good thing in my book."

"You're book is missing a number of pages. Like the ones that should have been devoted to common sense."

"You aren't the first to think so."

Letting his hair flop back down over his eyes Andromeda figured this was about as mushy as she could handle at the moment. "Okay, enough of that. We have a potion to work on. And I'll still punish you horribly if you almost blow us up again. Flowers or no flowers."

"Yes, ma'am."

)

Thankfully the potions lesson went off without a hitch and the two left the classroom in the same shape as when they'd entered. A little cleaner actually, since Andromeda was fussy about that sort of thing. And as usual Ted insisted on seeing his lady back to the hallway leading to her dormitory, though this time she didn't utter so much as a peep against it. In fact she hooked her arm through his and carried her flowers proudly.

"These really are lovely flowers."

"They are your favorites." Smiling over at her Ted figured that if a person really could die of happiness, he didn't have much longer to live. But hey, at least he'd die incredibly happy, with Andromeda being the last thing he saw, the Hufflepuff thought with a humorous gleam in his eyes.

"Does anyone know you got these for me?" Andromeda asked, forcing herself to turn her thoughts to more serious matters. "I can't advertise the fact that you gave them to me. People can't know we're…so close until after we're both out of school. I won't be here to protect you next year and my housemates will come at you to earn points with my older sister and her ilk."

Ted wanted to protest the fact that he could take care of himself, but he wasn't stupid enough to think that she wouldn't be able to shoot that argument down in less than a minute. He'd spent too much time in the Medical Wing recently, and that was with everyone just speculating that they were romantically involved. If they admitted it then it probably would get worse.

"So I can't tell anyone that you're my girl?"

Andromeda gave him a dark look. "Just when did I say that I was your girl, exactly?"

"If you're not my girl than what are we to each other?" Ted shot back impishly, riding too big of a high to be overly cautious. "You said yourself we'll still be close a year from now."

Drat. He had her there. "Let's just say that we're close and leave it at that. And just between us for the time being, so that you don't end up dead in a hallway being eaten by Filch's cat."

Ted grimaced. "That would suck worse than Pepsi."

"Yes, so visualize that every time you get tempted to brag."

"Do I have to? That's the kind of image that could haunt a guy."

Looking over at him Andromeda shook her head at him. "What am I going to do with you, honestly?"

Grinning, Ted looked at her with all the love and devotion he felt for his girl. "Take care of me forever and ever?"

The Slytherin stared at him for a long, drawn out moment. "I suppose someone's got to do it."

)

A Year And A Bit Later

Andromeda Black stood off to the side, allowing the families of the returning students to crowd in close to the Hogwarts Express as it came to a stop with a loud, piercing whistle. Most eyes were on the train, though there were those in the crowd who glanced her way, obviously wondering why she was there. It couldn't be that she was there to welcome home her youngest sister, everyone knew that she'd been disowned. Her parents were waiting for their youngest far away from their middle child, and you wouldn't know that the Blacks were aware of Andromeda's presence to observe them.

Everyone in the Wizarding World knew that the Black family has disinherited Andromeda upon her education's completion. No one knew precisely what had transpired to cause the girl's disinheritance, all anyone knew for sure that was within a week of Andromeda's return from Hogwarts she had been written out of her family's will and all the Blacks save for Sirius Black refused to acknowledge her existence at all.

What she'd been doing since was a mystery, she hadn't been seen much since then so that there had been those who'd whispered that the girl's older sister and her friends had killed the disgraced Black.

Now here she was, all alone, quietly standing in the back while watching the students disembarking the train's compartments.

Acutely aware of the questioning looks she was getting Andromeda ignored them all. She was tempted to check her appearance one last time, but she squashed the urge, deeming it unnecessary. Even if her hair did tend to frizz up a little in humid weather.

Thinking about her appearance had the Slytherin distracted, but she still spotted her sister when Narcissa disembarked from the train. Watching closely, hoping that her sister would look her way, Andromeda gave a little sigh of disappointment when Lucius disembarked right after Cissy. There was no point in trying to get the girl's attention now.

Going back to her people watching Andromeda felt her dark thoughts lift as she spotted the man she was waiting for as soon as he stepped off the train. Not surprisingly he was surrounded by classmates, all who seemed to feel the need to talk to him despite the fact that they'd had the whole train ride home to talk to each other.

She wasn't tempted to brave the crowds though, he knew where she was. And she wouldn't mind it if those crowds dispersed quite a bit before he made his way over to her.

No such luck.

Too eager to see his girl to stay and chat Ted Tonks quickly loaded his trunk onto a trolley and started wheeling his way towards the back of the room as quickly as the crowds would let him. A wide grin stretched across his face by the time he'd gotten within a few feet of her the Hufflepuff abandoned the cart completely, ran to her, and shocked her and everyone else in the watching crowd by actually picking her up and twirling her around.

"Put me down, you idiot!" Cheeks flushing red Andromeda gave the blonde a look that said Ted was in for a world of hurt once she got him alone.

"But I'm so happy." Wisely putting her down Ted didn't let her go, simply pulling her into a bone crushing cuddle. "I missed you so much. I don't ever want to go that long without being able to see you ever again."

Cheeks going red for a whole other reason Andromeda successfully fought to keep her pleasure at his words hidden. "We're in public. Behave."

"But everyone can know you're my girl now." Ted all but sang the words as he beamed at her. "You're going to marry me, and we're going to live happily ever after."

"I haven't said I'll marry you." Andromeda hissed, though there was no heat behind her words.

"But you are, and we're going to have a beautiful baby boy and I'm going to be the envy of everyone, just you wait and see."

Andromeda was correcting him before she thought her words through. "A girl."

"A girl." Ted agreed as he drew back but took one of her hands in his. "But I won't compromise on our happily ever after. We have to have that. You have to love me forever and ever and ever."

A hint of a smile teasing her lips, Andromeda squeezed the hand that held hers. "I suppose that's not too much to ask."

The End


End file.
